THIS year’s Bradford on Avon duck race is set to bring in stellar crowds with hundreds of families expected to turn out to watch the annual Easter Monday event.

There were 639 plastic ducks let loose from the town bridge at noon last year and similar numbers are expected to take part on Monday.

The event is organised by the town’s Chamber of Commerce, with prizes donated by local businesses going to the sponsor of the first three ducks and the sponsor of the duck in last place.

Caroline Philpott, who is the president of the Chamber of Commerce and runs Tillions, said: “The duck race just seems to bring in the most enormous crowds and the food and drink establishments seem to do very well.

“It is just a fun event to see all the ducks being let off from the bridge.”

Entrants pay £1 each to sponsor a duck which floats downstream in the race to the finishing line at the Riverside Inn with members of the Bradford on Avon Canoe Club in the water collecting the ducks, nudging wayward ones in the right direction.

Ducks can be bought on the day in Westbury Gardens or beforehand at Art is in the Name or Tillions.

All the money raised on the day will go towards the Christmas lights fund.