A bizarre ancient sport in which competitors kick out at each other's legs will return in 2022 after a lengthy hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, local media has reported.

Thousands of spectators show up every year in Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire to watch The National Shinkicking Championships which have been going on since the 17th Century.

The event has been cancelled for the past two years as a result of coronavirus restrictions.

But after a £5,000 funding boost from the county council, the games will return in 2022, according to MailOnline.

This archive footage shows the championship in 2019.

The world shin-kicking championship took place in the village of Chipping Campden this evening (Friday). In front of several hundred spectators, the event was the highlight of the so-called Cotswold Olimpicks, a celebration of unusual sports. The video shows pairs aggressively kicking each others shins as they hold onto their opponent's shoulders. Shin-kicking originated in England in the early 17th Century and has been described as an English martial art. It was included in the 1951 revival of the Cotswold Olimpicks, which now features the World Shin-kicking Championships.