THE revving of very small engines echoed across the Cheney Manor Golf Club.

Around 30 races for remote-controlled vehicles took place yesterday, with almost 120 cars competing.

The South of England series races were organised by model car club Swindon Nitros, and featured mainly 1/8th scale nitro buggies and monster trucks.

Terry Hunt, one of the race organisers, said: "It was cold and somewhat damp but we had an excellent meeting.

"It was very wet and snowy in the morning and we got to within five minutes of calling the meeting off but the drivers voted to go ahead with it."

The model cars are capable of moving at speeds up to 140 mph.

Mr Hunt said: "This is a worldwide sport. There are hundreds of clubs throughout the country and a huge fan base. People don't realise the size of the sport.

"There is talk of redeveloping the area but we want to sit down with the council and negotiate some sort of business plan so they can see how big the sport is.

"We want to secure our future at this track.

"We are trying to get a national final to come to Swindon.

"There's a lot of high-spec high-tech high-octane action and it's a lot of fun."

Anyone wanting more information about the club can visit www.swindon-nitros.com