LAST year it was former Page Three model Jo Guest who boosted the profile of watercress.

Now it is the men who are being urged to take on the role as Hampshire promotes its most famous crop. This weekend sees the first festival in praise of the plant, when organisers hope to paint the county green.

A competition to find Mr Watercress is being held, with the judging by the Mayor of Winchester, Jean Hammerton in Alresford on Sunday.

Chamber of commerce chairman Andrew Merry was quick to stake his claim for the title, while a colleague explained why they were staging the event.

Jennifer Hiorns, president of the town's chamber of commerce, said: "We are holding our own competition in response to the much publicised Page Three model's immersion in our watercress beds last year, as we believe that there are boyfriends, dads, brothers, bosses who can put Miss Watercress in the shade."

Organisers are hoping that it will become an annual event.

The competition is part of a weekend of celebration to mark National Watercress Week and will include a cookery demonstration, themed treasure hunt, live music and presentations to Alresford's top watercress chef and Perins School's best catering student. Watercress has been grown commercially in the spring waters of southern England since the early 1800s.