Fans of Winnie the Pooh have been gathering in England for the 28th annual "Pooh Sticks" World Championships. The game was first played by the loveable bear in A.A. Milne's, Winnie the Pooh, published 86 years ago. But as Richard Bestic reports from the banks of the River Thames in Oxfordshire, it's just as popular today - with hundreds enjoying the fun of the "annual championships".

Fans of Winnie the Pooh have been gathering in England for the 28th annual "Pooh Sticks" World Championships.

Yes, they're at it again. Playing Pooh sticks for prizes.

Following in the wake of AA Milne's cuddly character, Pooh Bear, who started the whole thing by accident.

While for some the Pooh Sticks Championships appear just an excuse for a picnic by the river.

And the finishing line is hardly up to Olympic standards.

They do require considerable organization.

Fans of Winnie the Pooh have been gathering in England for the 28th annual "Pooh Sticks" World Championships.

According to Wikipedia, there's a controversy as whether Pooh Sticks is a matter luck or skill.

But then if it's a championship there must be prizes. And sure enough there were.

This year's Pooh Stick World Champion, four and half year-old Aiden Eltham from Wallingford in Oxfordshire, looking suitably chuffed with the only literary prize he's ever likely to win without reading or writing.