It is a sporting event steeped in tradition like the beer-soaked dwile flung at the dancing competitors.

And this weekend, for the first time since 2019, dwile flonking will make its long-awaited return to the Waveney valley.

The unique sport didn't mix well with the coronavirus pandemic and was cancelled without hope of an outing in 2020.

Organisers had more hope last year, but were forced to postpone indefinitely a much-reduced version just days before the dwile was thrown after a rise in Covid cases.

At midday on Saturday, May 7, teams from Norfolk and Suffolk will face off at the Locks Inn, in Geldeston, with organisers promising "great food and wasted ale".

Jobanowl, the official term for referee, Yanny Mac, said: "After an interminable period of abstinence, the Locks Inn is welcoming back this ancient and noble sport to its spiritual home, here in the Waveney and Blyth valleys.

"The lads have been polishing their skills in and out of various ale-houses throughout winter, and are primed for athletic success.

"As jobanowl and village idiot, it would be unfair of me to predict a winner, so I would urge folk to put money on Suffolk.

"It's a game of several halves, and a lot of the lads are over the moon."

This year's event is sponsored by the Green Jack Brewery.

It will also honour a former Blyth Valley flonker from the 1960s and 70s, with teams this year competing for the Colin Denny 'Ere We Go Together County Shield.

Mr Mac added: "Sadly we lost one of the town's great characters last year. He will be greatly missed."

The game is played with one team joining hands to form a ring, with a member of the other side in the middle of the circle, holding a beer-soaked dwile on the end of a stick.

They must then attempt to hit an opponent with the dwile, with points scored based on which part of the body is hit.

The event has been held in the vast garden at the Geldeston pub, on the Norfolk-Suffolk border, for a number of years.