HUNDREDS of duck’s sailed down the Wye River yesterday as part of the Great SARA Duck Race.

Crowds gathered to see the plastic ducks thrown off the A48 bridge before bobbing along to reach the Old Town Bridge, in Chepstow.

The race was in aid of the Severn Area Rescue Association which is an inshore rescue boat and land search organisation covering the Severn Estuary, upper reaches of the River Severn, the River Wye and Usk.

It is the largest independent lifeboat service in the UK, second only to the RNLI. Prizes for the race included £100 for first place, £50 for second place and £25 for third place.

The ducks cost £1 per entry and winners will be notified by email.

Musical entertainment was also provided at the event as crowds enjoyed the sunshine.

Sam Cross, fundraising manager at SARA, said: “It was a fantastic day, a really popular event and the weather was perfect. It has been the best duck race so far, there were about a thousand ducks and 10 corporate ducks.

“We estimate that we’ve raised about £1,500 which is brilliant and more than last year. There were a few hundred people there, the tickets weren’t selling fast enough.”

Around eight crew members in two boats also put on a demonstration for the crowd at Chepstow.

The event previously raised £800 for the charity in 2010.

For information on SARA visit www.sara-rescue.org.uk.