 The contest began in the late 1980s when two farmers argued over who had the longest stinging nettles in their field and evolved into the World Nettle Eating Championships when one of the farmers promised to eat any nettle which was longer than his.The championship has separate men’s and women’s sections and attracts competitors from as far afield as Canada and Australia.In June 2010 Sam Cunningham, a fishmonger from Somerset won the contest, after eating of nettles.