Scrabble contest for residents of Woodpeckers Care Home in Brockenhurst and Kingfishers in New Milton

A MASSIVE war of words erupted between the residents of four care homes as they competed in a Scrabble contest.

Players at Colten Care homes on the Forest and in Dorset pitted their wits against each other using giant Scrabble boards.

Residents of Woodpeckers Care Home in Brockenhurst made sure to mind their Ps and Qs as they welcomed friendly competitors from Kingfishers in New Milton.

A similarly gentle rivalry played out between Scrabble dabblers from Amberwood House in Ferndown, who took on challengers from Bourne View in Poole.

Inspired by National Scrabble Day, the matches lasted several hours and featured a sweepstake so non-players could feel involved by guessing the number of words each team would play in each game.

At Amberwood House, staff reflected the theme of word play by dressing up as something beginning with the first letter of their name.

Companionship team leader Kirsty Richmond-Cole was a kite, clinical lead Hanna Rehbein was a hot dog, home manager Diane Nicholls was a dragon, nurse Anika McQuirk was Alice in Wonderland, and maintenance manager Christian Blanch was Clark Kent, unveiling a Superman top under his shirt.

Kirsty said: “We decided to dress up so residents could have a good laugh and join in with the celebrations even if they had decided not to play. We did have some strange looks and one or two belly laughs.”

The Bourne View team - Harold Faircloth, Wendy Barnes and Peter Prior - arrived at Amberwood House just before lunch, taking a stroll around the garden and enjoying fish and chips before sitting down for the competition.

In the end, Amberwood House put up three teams itself, with residents Marjorie Hutchings, Rita Bryant and Noreen Hewitt having a closely fought match with Harold, Wendy and Peter.

Kirsty said: “There were some clever moves and a few challenges on words and Marjorie, Rita and Noreen jumped into the lead. But Harold, Wendy and Peter refused to give in and made a word score of 41 which enabled them to go in front. As it went on and with a final push from Marjorie, Rita, and Noreen, Amberwood House cheered with joy as they cleared their rack with a fantastic move and won the game.”

Marjorie said: “It was great to welcome our visitors. Hopefully, it’s the start of more get togethers.”