A POEM about mining clinched the prestigious Eisteddfod crown for an Aberystwyth man.

Dr Jason Walford-Davies, 32, was honoured by an elaborate and symbolic ceremony on the Tredegar House site.

The Gorsedd - a council of robed experts on Welsh culture - filed into the main pavilion to a blasting fanfare.

Accompanied by flower bearers they took their seats on the stage before Archdruid Dr Robyn Lewis started the ceremony. Representatives from Celtic communities in Scotland, Ireland, the Isle of Man and Patagonia, Argentina, were also invited onto the stage.

The judges picked Dr Walford-Davies' verse from 28 entrants who took up the challenge to write a poem of under 200 words on the theme of 'energy'.

He drew on the experiences of his grandfather to write about the importance of mining in the community. Besides the crown, he also received £750 donated by the Newport Welsh Society.