HEAVE-ho! The summer months once meant carnivals, fetes, fayres and trusty tug-of-war contests.

Although we look back on it as a fun pastime, tug-of-war is steeped in history. In Ancient Greece, tug-of-war became popular in around 500 BC where it was practised by athletes either as a competitive sport or as an exercise in the physical training for other sports.

In Western Europe evidence of tug-of-war is found in the year 1000 AD, through the stories of the heroic champions of a tug-of-war power games between Scandinavia and Germany. In later years tug- of- war even featured in the Olympic Games from 1900 to 1920.

We take a nostalgic look back at some of the tug-of-war contests that have pulled people together across the Echo patch…