A father and son hope to prove they are still at the cutting edge of their craft at the world shearing championships this winter.

George and son Andrew Mudge have already shown they are a cut above the flock by scooping the Six Nations Cup international trophy and therefore, qualifying for the thrilling test of speed and skill at the sheep shearing world championships.

Over the first week of March they will travel to Masters in New Zealand to compete in the Golden Shears World Sheep Shearing & Wool Handling Championships.

This is the premier global event for shearing and wool handling, featuring machine shearing and blade shearing.

The pair, who run the beef and sheep holding Meadowside Farm, between Peter Tavy and Tavistock, are proud holders of last year’s annual Six Nations Sean O’Sullivan Memorial Cup. The competition involved Northern Ireland and Ireland, France, Wales and Scotland.

They are now taking on the world’s top shearers with champions typically from Australia, New Zealand, Wales and South Africa. They will compete in the England team and as individuals, father and son, against each other.

George said: “We both do it because we love working with sheep and love competing, the tougher the competition the better.

“We’re now looking forward to the world championships in New Zealand. The competition sheep are merinos which are harder to work on because of their physique and covering.”

The pair, who compete all over the world and the UK, beat the best using blades (which are giant very sharp fleece scissors).

They have to shear live sheep in a set time to quality standards and thrill the crowds with their skills producing a perfect fleece with no harm to the sheep.

George said the secret to top shearing is hand-eye coordination and lots of practising: “It’s not just about speed, but the quality of the fleece and how smooth and uncut the sheep is.”