IT may be mid-December but that did not stop villagers in Ashton Keynes flocking to the river banks for the annual duck race.

The event, which was organised by the youth football club, saw 500 numbered plastic ducks wending their way down a half-mile stretch of the Thames from Church Walk to the High Road.

The fundraiser amassed £2,300 for local groups including the football club, which has four teams and around 60 players, the village playgroup and the Golden Years pensioners' group.

The first ducks across the finishing line secured £50 for the winners. This year's victors were Mel Sanders, Lucy Wingrove, Paula Lyons and Chris Beales. There were also runner-up prizes and spot prizes.