GARDENER and mother-of-three Andi Rickard, from Wellington, has become the first woman to win the title of UK National Scythe Champion and is now heading to Austria to represent the UK and Ireland in the 2019 European Scythe Championships.

The event, held every two years, is entered by teams from nine or ten European countries – next month’s championships will be the first time a UK team has entered.

Andi, a member of Transition Town Wellington and co-founder of the Community Scything Group, runs courses throughout the summer teaching people the traditional craft of using and maintaining a scythe.

She has been competing at the UK championships, held at the Green Scythe Fair at Muchelney, for ten years. She has won the Ladies Cup nine times and was third in the overall competition two years ago, but this year she finally beat all the men and became overall champion.

Andi said: “We – the Scythe Association – have been discussing the possibility of sending a team to the European’s for a couple of years now. I’m so glad it was this year we managed to sort it out.

“As a new team we’re only allowed to send two men and one woman but we have three really strong scythers on the team.

“I can’t wait to have a go at that lovely Austrian meadow grass. Now I just need to work out how I’m going to get a 110cm scythe blade on a plane!”