David is Speed-ing up his axe-throwing prowess

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Sat in the Chronicle office close to Oldham Edge, we were intrigued by the ‘thud, thud’ sound coming from the adjoining grassland.

It was there we met David Speed, from nearby Royton, polishing up his axe-throwing skills!

David, who works at Asda in Shaw, has only recently taken up the sport, having purchased two six-inch long axes and built his own target board out of especially thick new wood.

David told the Chronicle: “I’ve only been doing it for a couple of weeks.

“I saw a guy doing archery and I fancied that - and he was also doing axe-throwing.

"I thought, well, I can build that – it costs 80 to 100 pounds for a decent bow but [the axes] they’re like a tenner each.”

When asked whether there were local clubs for him to join, he said: “There will be, but I have nothing to do with them.

“It is an upcoming sport I think, with the Vikings show and all that stuff. They’ve made it popular.”

He was not wrong. Axe-throwing is the latest craze storming the United States, Canada and the UK.

The sport involves throwing an axe and aiming to hit as close to a bullseye as possible.

The World Axe Throwing League is the world’s largest professional association for axe-throwing and its global governing body, while the National Axe Throwing Federation seeks to establish global standardised rules.

Safety, of course, is of upmost importance with such a potential weapon.

David said: “I need somewhere where there’s nobody around.

“[Here] I can hear people coming and its quite safe.”

If you’d like to try your hand at the sport, then Whistle Punks Urban Axe Throwing in Manchester is the place to be.

They allow groups of friends to compete in a tournament after training with professional throwing coaches, and promise to be ‘the most satisfying day or night out you’ll ever have’.

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