Sack race draws the crowds (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Sack race draws the crowds

HUNDREDS of people crowded onto the streets of Tetbury on Monday for the annual Woolsack Day.

Families took advantage of the sunny weather and descended on the town to enjoy the stalls selling everything from jewellery to ice cream.

But the main focus of the day were the famous races held over the gruelling course at Gumstool Hill.

There were treats in store as two world records were smashed in the men's and women's events.

Zoe Dixon knocked several seconds off her previous record coming in at 1.0569mins.

"I'm not sure how," she said. "That was harder than last year."

Meanwhile it was a familiar scene in the men's event as Nathan Barraclough stormed up the hill to set another world record.

Nathan, who is from Cirencester, recorded a time of 48.31seconds beating children's TV presenter Steve Backsall.

He said: "I just took four seconds off my world record. I was a bit worried about the competition before but he's not used to it, it was a good race anyway."

Nathan admitted he should be revising for his final exams for his economics degree but decided Woolsack was too important to miss.

Steve, the presenter of BBC1's The Really Wild Show, was feeling the strain after completing the race behind Nathan.

"Honestly my legs feel like somebody else's," he said. "I feel like an 80-year-old man."

This year's Woolsack also saw a special unofficial children's race contested between the children of the race organisers aged between five and thirteen.

Next year they hope to have an official children's race.