Ancient Haxey Hood custom lives on

After a ten year wait it's the Loco pub which is celebrating tonight having reclaimed the Haxey Hood. In a tradition that stretches back some 700 years, pub teams in the North Lincolnshire village compete to wrestle the hood from one another. But only once they've caught and smoked the fool. Martin Fisher reports.

Calendar has unearthed footage taken back in 1969 of the Haxey Hood event.

It's a custom said to be too old for its origins to be remembered, but dates back to the day when a Lady Mulberry was riding along the fields, lost her hood, and workmen scrambled over to help.

The hood was returned but it was all tattered and torn. She was so taken by their kindness that she wanted a game to be named and played as a reminder of the act. And thus the Haxey Hood was born and held every year on the twelfth day of Christmas. Take a look at what went on 46 years ago..

Hundreds of people in the Lincolnshire village of Haxey will be marking an ancient tradition today.

The Haxey Hood sees two teams of villagers play an ancient game - as they try and get a long leather stick back to their favourite pub without picking it up and running with it. It's been described as a messy rugby game without many rules.