And the joke of the Fringe is...

Darren Walsh's pun scoops the title

Darren Walsh has claimed the funniest joke of the Fringe with his line: 'I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free'

Almost a quarter of respondents voted for the line in a poll to chose the winner, organised by TV channel Dave.

The 39-year-old, from Peterborough, previously won the first UK Pun Championship at the Leicester Comedy Festival last year, also sponsored by Dave. He as published book of puns entitled Cheep Laughs and created a Pun Guide To The Fringe, a video punning the name of ‘almost’ every comedian performing in Edinburgh.

He said: 'I am delighted to win this award. What a punderful feeling.'

Two thousand people voted on the lines, based on a shortlist drawn up by a panel of comedy critics. And the respondents are not told which comedian cracked which joke.

The top ten are:

1. 'I just deleted all the German names off my phone. It's Hans free' – Darren Walsh

2. 'Kim Kardashian is saddled with a huge arse... but enough about Kanye West' – Stewart Francis

3. 'Surely every car is a people carrier?' – Adam Hess

4. 'What's the difference between a "hippo" and a "Zippo"? One is really heavy, the other is a little lighter' – Masai Graham

5. 'If I could take just one thing to a desert island I probably wouldn't go' – Dave Green

6. 'Jesus fed 5,000 people with two fishes and a loaf of bread. That's not a miracle. That's tapas' – Mark Nelson

7. 'Red sky at night. Shepherd's delight. Blue sky at night. Day' – Tom Parry

8= 'The first time I met my wife, I knew she was a keeper. She was wearing massive gloves' - Alun Cochrane

8= 'Clowns divorce. Custardy battle' – Simon Munnery

10. 'They're always telling me to live my dreams. But I don't want to be naked in an exam I haven't revised for...' – Grace The Child

At 12, Grace is the youngest comic ever to make the list in the award's eight-year history – and is also the only female entrant in the top ten.

Previous winners of the award include Tim Vine, Rob Auton, Stewart Francis, Zoe Lyons and Nick Helm.

Steve North, general manager of Dave said: 'The Fringe is renowned for being the best place to spot new and emerging comedy talent, and although there are some returning contenders in our top 10 this year, there is a high volume of new talent which is very exciting.'

Dave also realised a list of 'honourable mentions' which missed the top ten. They are:

'I never lie on my CV…because it creases it' – Jenny Collier

'If you don't know what introspection is you need to take a long, hard look at yourself' – Ian Smith

'I usually meet my girlfriend at 12:59 because I like that one to one time' – Tom Ward

'Whenever I get to Edinburgh, I'm reminded of the definition of a gentleman. It's someone who knows how to play the bagpipes, but doesn't' – Gyles Brandreth

'Let me tell you a little about myself. It's a reflexive pronoun that means "me"' - Ally Houston

'Earlier this year I saw The Theory of Everything - loved it. Should've been called Look Who's Hawking, that's my only criticism' – James Acaster

Here's Walsh's Pun Guide To The Fringe: