A GROUP of daredevil riders took part in Purton's first ever soapbox race on September 16.

A total of 10 karts took part in the event, which was raising money for Purton church and the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA).

Kart designs ranged from a WW1 aircraft, to a sausage.

One of the organisers, Henry Richardson, came up with the idea for the race after watching Red Bull soap box races on TV.

He then suggested holding a similar event in Purton and was delighted with the community's enthusiastic response.

The hill between Hinton and Purton was selected as the best route and the necessary road closure was organised.

On the day, the hill was lined with spectators, as the entrants competed for the title of best looking cart, best prematch performance, and fastest time down the course.

SARA scooped the fastest kart title, with John Shipp second and the Huntsman pub third.

Wotton firefighters won the best looking vehicle title, with John Shipp second again, and Biggles third.

Best prematch performance was won by the Huntsman pub, with Mike Perry the butchers second, and SARA third.

"It was a decent tournament and a really good laugh too, with plenty of spectators cheering everyone on," said Henry.

"I had expected a lot of inventivity, but I had not expected the designs to be quite so successful. People had really gone out of their way when making their karts."

There were some rules, including that all karts must have a braking system and drivers must wear a safety helmet.

"It was a fantastic community event, with volunteers putting in a huge amount of time and effort to help, and lots of generous donations," said Henry.

"We'll definitely be running it again next year."

The total raised from the event was £288, with £144 each going to SARA and Purton church.