THOUSANDS of plastic yellow ducks racing along a river is not something you see every day, but that’s exactly what makes Swindon’s Famous Duck Race so famous.

Yesterday, Mayor Junab Ali, flanked by five beauty pageant queens, started the main race by pulling the lever in a JCB which tipped more than 12,000 ducks into the River Ray, which runs behind The Runner pub and into Westcott Recreation Ground.

There was more competition at this year’s race than ever before as the previous record of 11,700 ducks sold was easily beaten.

The first race of the day was the drake race, where businesses paid £50 for a plastic drake to race along the river.

Then, schoolchildren got to join in the fun with their own little duck race, then the main event began shortly afterwards at 3.30pm.

Roy Parkinson, Rotarian and duck-seller-in-chief, said: “This day has become so established now, people come back year after year and look forward to it.

“There’s been a constant stream of people queuing to buy a duck since 11am and we’ve had more stalls than ever this year.”

Dick Mattick, president of the Swindon Rotary Club, which organises the event, said: “This event seems to get bigger and better every year.

“Most of the money will go to our charity of the year, Brighter Futures, but we’ve also encouraged other charities to sell ducks and promised to give them at least 75 per cent of the sale.

“All these people have set up tents and taken time out of their day to be here, so we want to help them rather than a national charity.

“One of the reasons we can say that every pound goes to charity is that Nationwide provide the prize money, which is great.”

Though the races were the day’s main attraction, visitors and families also enjoyed a fairground, a tombola, and plenty of fun games and food.

A dog show hosted by the Blue Cross attracted plenty of pampered pooches.

Sally Howse, rehoming and advice supervisor at Blue Cross, said: “Today has been fantastic. We’ve had lots of entries and enthusiasm

“We’ve had around 15 to 20 dogs in each of the seven classes, with a nice cross-section of breeds, sizes and ages.

“It’s lovely to meet so many people with their dogs and a great bunch of volunteers have been helping out.

“It’s always good to spread the word about what we do, it’s super.

“We’ve got a unit in the Stratton Pets At Home, open seven days a week, where people can come in and get advice about rehoming and adopting animals.”