The 22nd Wimborne in Bloom August Bank Holiday weekend Duck Race raised over £1,400 towards ‘In Bloom’ funds, in particular towards the planting up of the planters around town for the autumn.

The mayor Cllr Mrs Carol Butter and the town crier Chris Brown, together with members of the Wimborne in Bloom committee, launched the ducks into the River Allen by the Riverside Mews Café Bridge on the afternoon of Saturday 27 August. In spite of the River Allen being somewhat low in water the first duck crossed the finishing line behind the Rising Sun in East Street in 20 minutes.

Once again, to meet the demand for tickets, some of the ducks were ‘co-owned’ as it would have been impractical to increase the number of ducks launched into the river beyond a thousand. It meant that the prize money could be doubled, as both owners would be eligible for the full value of all prizes.

Results:

1. No:831 owned by Alison Watkins who won £50
2. No:222 co-owned by John and Carole Crease and Andrew Harvey who both won £25
3. No:562 owned by Penny Nunn who received £10
4. No:866 owned by Patricia Tate who donated her winnings of £5 back to Wimborne in Bloom
5. No:983 owned by Dexter Howells who received £5
6. No:336 co-owned by Anne Hampton who also donated her winnings of £5 to Wimborne in Bloom and Lilly-May Light who won £5

Last duck home No:512 was co-owned by Geoff Smith and Matthew who both received a bottle of wine.

All ducks had been pre-sold at £1 a time, thanks to the Co-Operative supermarket allowing members of Wimborne in Bloom to sell tickets outside their store.

Richard Nunn, chairman of Wimborne in Bloom, speaking after the race thanked everyone who helped with the selling of tickets and all those who purchased

ducks in support of Wimborne in Bloom, especially in the 30th anniversary year.

He said: “It was great to see all those smiling faces as people followed the race down the river trying to spot their duck.”

The next In Bloom event is the Charities Fair to be held in the Allendale Centre on

Saturday 12 November. Any charity interested in having a table at the fair or to know more about Wimborne in Bloom should visit the website: www.wimborneinbloom.org.uk