Crowds gather to watch bumper Newbury Pancake Race

A FLIPPING great time was had by all this lunchtime at Newbury’s biggest ever Pancake Race.

Organised by the Soroptomist International Newbury and District the race saw a record number of teams enter in the hope of being crowned Pancake champions.

This year 28 teams from local businesses and organisations competed in the event with hundreds of spectators crowding into Market Place to watch.

The number of competitors is more than double the previous year which saw 13 teams enter.

This year's Pancake champions, sponsored by the Newbury Weekly News, were the Newbury Hall School.

The best dressed team sponsored by Henwick Properties, went to Thomas Eggar while the pancake tosser of town hall the year, sponsored by Gecko Communications, was awarded to The Phoenix Fitness Studio.

Following the race Mayor of Newbury Howard Bairstow threw pancakes from the town hall balcony to children below, as has been a tradition since the 1870s.

A pancake lunch was then served in St Nicolas Hall with 79-year-old Sylvia Grimwood once again helping to serve some of the 400 pancakes that she had cooked personally.

President of the Soroptomist International Newbury and District Katy Hawthorne said: “I’m just delighted that everything went according to plan.

“To have such a massive number of teams participate was pretty unbelievable.

“I’d like to thank everyone who took part and everyone who came out to watch.”

For a full roundup of all the pictures and action see this week's Newbury Weekly News 

For a look back at some of the Newbury Pancake Races of the past have a look at our gallery here