CONKERS

As I don't have a picture of any conkers, how about one of Swan Park in Buncrana?

NUTS

A council in England is paying contractors €150 euro per tree to remove conkers. Officials fear locals' windows will be broken as children throw objects into the trees to loosen the chestnuts. The contractors remove the conkers from the trees and leave them on the ground so children can still play with them. Peter Whish, the council's tree officer, said: "We're basically saving the council some money. One resident regularly has her windows broken in her conservatory by people throwing things into the tree. "There was a good conker crop so she gave us a call early and we were able to respond." However, World Conker Championships organiser John Hadman said the council were ruining the conkers by not allowing them to fall naturally. He said: "If a conker hasn't fallen to the ground naturally then it isn't ready to play”.