Duck race goes swimmingly
More people than ever before gathered as spectators to watch and take part in a Midland town's traditional annual New Year's Day duck race despite sub-zero temperatures.
Organisers from Kidderminster and District Lions Club were delighted by the turnout as between 3,000 to 4,000 people descended on Bewdley for the event.
A record number of 591 ducks were entered in the race with many handmade from household items and Christmas decorations. The homemade ones included an eco-rainbow duck made out of a milk bottle and cotton wool by five-year-old Sophie Cooke, a pupil at The Knoll School in Kidderminster.
Isaac Cook, aged four, from Bewdley, showed off his spiderman duck.
Ruth Leavesley, a 22-year-old student from Bewdley who is studying music at Cardiff University, won the prize for best-dressed duck.
Colin Hill, spokesman for the Lions Club, said: "It was a wonderful turnout and it gets bigger every year."
