Blue skies and blistering sunshine welcomed 55 teams to the 13th annual Sand Church Building competition, at Whitesands Beach, St Davids, last Tuesday afternoon.

Judges and organisers alike were amazed by the incredibly high standard of work on display, with entries ranging from the traditional to the unusual, and with a fair share of the artistic and inspirational thrown in for good measure.

Winner of the under-sevens age group was four-year-old Jared Job, of Letterston. Jared's mum had brought him down to St Davids especially for the competition. Jared's effort made full use of the natural materials washed up on the beach and he even managed to find some coloured cellophane to use as stained-glass windows.

The organisations category was won by a team from Haverfordwest Probation Services, whose lifesize sand sculpture of Christ on the cross left the rest of the opposition in the shade, even on such a scorcher of a day.

Such was the competition in the families class that the judges decided to award two first prizes. Both winners were visitors to the county.

The Birley family from Dorset netted one of the prizes by pushing their inspiration from the location and the competition guidelines to its logical conclusion with a fish-shaped construction based around the quote from St Matthew's Gospel, "I will make you fishers of men".

The Casnewydd Constructors, better known as the Hallam family from Newport, scooped their prize for the mammoth effort which went into building a tranquil little church, complete with flying buttresses, atop a picturesque hill beside their man-made lake. Organisers, The St Davids Peninsula Tourist Association, paid special tribute to Mr Paul Venables, a long-time visitor to the county, who ensured the day's events could continue unhindered by paying the public liability insurance for the competition.

Each category winner received a £25 prize. The sponsors of the competition were the Western Telegraph and the St Davids Peninsula Tourist Association.