Robert Thomas has been crowned UK Pun Champion 2018. 

He beat off seven other finalists in a knockout competition held at the De Montfort Hall in Leicester as part of the Leicester Comedy Festival. After two initial rounds Thomas, the 2015 finalist, beat the 2017 finalist Julian Lee in a tense laugh-off. 

The competition was the culmination of the fourth annual #Ukpunday when people around the country cracked gags on Twitter. At one point #Ukpunday and Leicester were two of the top trending topics on Twitter in the UK.

The other finalists were:

Colin Leggo   

Iain MacDonald

EL Baldiniho

Samantha Baines

Tim Andrews

Adele Cliff                                         

For info on past winners and video clips see the UK Pun Championship website

The Leicester Comedy Festival runs until February 25. Buy tickets for all events here.