Otley Town Crier newly-crowned double British champion just ahead of Yorkshire Day

Now Otley's bellman, newly-crowned as double British champion for the first time, is to call Yorkshire's Declaration of Independence to mark this Yorkshire Day on August 1.

Terry Ford has been named first winner of the Loyal Company of Town Criers British Championship, and now the Ancient and Honourable Guild of Town Criers Championships.

For Mr Ford, a grandfather who came to the tradition quite by accident, this is an honour that was to stun him into silence for the first time.

His partner Sue is normally an "excellent judge", said the 70-year-old, but he had little hope of winning in Calne after she firmly told him his attempt had been "a bit rubbish".

"There was a draw, for second and third place, so they had to do a cry off," he said. "When they called my name I was shocked.

"We have to give a speech, and I couldn't think of a thing to say. It's nice to win," he added. And Helmsley's David Hinde came third, so two Yorkshire town criers in the top three."

The first known records of a town crier in British history date back to 1066, with three recorded in the Bayeaux Tapestry sharing news of the invadors' victory.

It's likely though, that the tradition goes back further, to Medieval times. Once employed by the Crown to deliver Royal messages, criers' roles devolved over the centuries to share the laws of the land, as decried by the local manor. Sharing news of sentences, for those convicted of crimes. When people learned to read, it became a more ceremonial role.

Otley, a market town in West Yorkshire, would once have had a hornblower to call the time, a bellman to wake workers, and a crier to deliver the news. It has kept the role of bellman, though Mr Ford's duties include crying. Officially, he is also the mayor's bodyguard.

He came to the job by accident, when nobody applied, and an evening in the pub landed him with an unexpected interview. That day, reading a proclamation in the rain outside the council chambers, he had interrupted a rock band who came to see what the racket was.

Thirteen years on, he's "mellowed" to the role, he said. Leading the Remembrance Day parade is his favourite, he said. There's carnival, mayor making, many charitable events.

This Yorkshire Day, August 1, he will read the Declaration of Integrity, established by the Yorkshire Ridings Society in 1975 as a call to maintain the Ridings under border change.

Mr Ford said it denotes that anybody who is a native of, or resides in Yorkshire, and supports the ideals of Yorkshire as a county, can call themselves a Yorkshireman.

"If you don't hold up those ideals, they won't have you," he said. "If you're not from Yorkshire it probably makes no sense at all. Yorkshire folk are still very proud of their county. It reminds people how special it is."

Mr Ford, who previously worked in IT, took up singing at the age of 40 and credits the vocal training he received here with his powerful projection.

"Some have a military background, others are simply blessed with a very loud voice," he said. "Every town should consider employing a town crier," he added. "In my experience, a town that doesn't have that is often missing something at its heart."