10 September 2011Last updated at 18:04

In pictures: Onion-eating contest thrills Newent crowds

Brian Duffield holds an onion at the Newent Onion Fayre

One of Gloucestershire's largest one-day festival's has taken place for the 16th year, with an eye-watering contest at its heart.

Four of the 10 male contestants chomping on their 7oz onion

Ten male and four female contestants gathered on stage at the Newent Onion Fayre on Saturday to guzzle a whole raw onion in the fastest possible time.

Sean Wozencroft, from Cinderford in the Forest of Dean (pictured centre), has won the event three times before and overcame his nerves to scoop a fourth title by polishing off his 7oz (0.2kg) onion in one minute and 42 seconds.

Mr Wozencroft managed to eat his whole onion without shedding a single tear

With a burning mouth but no tears in sight, Mr Wozencroft - who has a previous best time of 59 seconds - said he was "really pleased" to have won but admitted it was a struggle. He said: "I'd say that was probably the hottest onion I've eaten at the Newent Onion Fayre."

Janet Shmulevitch from Newent won the women's content

The four female entrants chomped on a slightly smaller 5oz (0.14kg) onion for their contest, which was won by local resident Janet Shmulevitch (pictured second right) with a time of two minutes and seven seconds.

A half-eaten onion left by one of the losers

Some of the male contestants barely managed a third of their onion before the winner was declared. Compere of the contest, David Blick, said Mr Wozencroft's time was slower than they would normally expect, but added that it depended on the year and the onion harvest. "I think this year they were a little bit hotter than normal," he added.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Newent to join the annual celebration

The roads through Newent were closed and thousands of people crowded into the town centre to join the annual street party and onion-themed celebrations which mark the first day of harvest at the end of the summer.

An Onion Show was help in the Memorial Hall in Newent

Aside from the eating and buying of onions, cash prizes and trophies were handed out to gardeners from around the UK and Wales who had travelled to Newent to exhibit their varieties of onion in the town's Memorial Hall.

Aside from onions, there were other events at the festival, including a dog show, wedding dress fair, live music, street entertainment, fairground rides and more than 100 stalls selling everything from fresh local produce to arts and crafts.

Gloucestershire

In pictures: Onion-eating contest thrills Newent crowds

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