THERE was pancake madness in Wimborne yesterday as residents and visitors took part in the annual fun race.

Now in the 16th year since its revival in 1998, the yearly event in celebration of Shrove Tuesday saw droves of people don aprons and chef hats, to take their lap of the course around Wimborne Minster.

Each with pan and pancake in hand, there was even a chance for the rector of Wimborne Minster, Vanessa Herrick, to have a go, after the mayor, Cllr John Burden, and deputy town crier, Mel Gudger, officially started the races.

Money raised for the event went to the mayor’s charities, which this year are the Wimborne Scouts, the Wimborne Guides and The Planet.

Anthony Oliver, a member of the Wimborne’s Pancake Race organising committee, said: “We had some very good races and we had a lot of people turn up for it.”

He added: “The overall winner for this year’s event was Harvey Camp, who won two trophies including the Old Bakehouse Cafe Challenge Trophy, with second place going to Scott Taylor. The overall under-18s winner was Charlie Bonnington, who was handed the prize of £25 given by Ken Holloway, a local supporter of the race.

“Five contestants also took part in two wheel chair races, and we had 22 toddlers enter the race, including two from Gloucester and one from as far away as New Zealand, as they were on holiday in the area.

“It’s a community event for Wimborne that brings people together from all over the place, and it was a lovely morning, with a great turnout in the crowds as well.”

Elsewhere, avid competitors took to Bournemouth Pier to compete in a traditional pancake race featuring separate adult, children and chef’s races, with all money raised going to Wessex Cancer Trust. Nearby at Castlepoint Shopping Park, retailers and other units put forward their best runners to flip and tip their pancakes around the course.