THE brains behind a a unique variation of Oxfordshire's most popular pub game has said he has now raised almost £1,500 after holding the third annual charity competition.

Recruitment manager Lee Smith, 39, held the county’s first ever ‘Foot Sally’ tournament in aid of Sobell House Hospice in 2015.

More than 100 people attended the Chequer's pub, Beaumont Road, Headington Quarry, for the third annual event in the competition's history which was held on Sunday, August 27.

He said of the day: "It's fair to say their were some good players in attendance this year and expectations were high.

"Overall we raised £1,480 while having a fantastic day and night."

Mr Smith first came up with the variation of Aunt Sally – the traditional game that involves throwing sticks at a wooden ‘dolly’ – as a child.

He said that the football-inspired alternative involved kicking balls instead of throwing sticks, which grew into a full-blown tournament to raise funds for charity.

This year's event saw 10 teams of six players compete for the title of FootSally 2017 world champions,

Among the teams were Stuart Bishop, Manager of Headington Amateurs FC, Mark Simms, former Abingdon Utd goalscorer and former Oxford City player Danny Wise, who still holds the record for scoring five goals in an FA Cup game.

There were also two teams of former Oxford Utd Ladies players, including Cara Foulks and Paula Callinan.

After 40 battles and more 30 dolls hit, the winners of Group A were crowned as Stuart Bishop's team, Bish's Bus Passes, and the winners of Group B were Le Saux Solid Crew, captained by Rhys Veal.

The final kicked off in the afternoon, with Bish's Bus Passes storming into a 2-0 lead and Jimmy Light scoring both hits, and the team were ultimately crowned winners with an average age of 62 for their debut tournament.

As well as the FootSally tournament, there was a prize-winning raffle with prizes including festival tickets, VIP tickets to Newbury Races, and a signed Oxford United football.

The event raises money for Sobell House Hospice, based at the Churchill Hospital, Headington, which offers palliative and end-of-life care to people in Oxfordshire while supporting their families. It costs about £1.6m a year to run.

To help the Oxford Mail in our appeal to raise £40,000 to pay for 100 days of care at the hospice, visit www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/shhc/oxmailsobellappeal