ONLY a few days after Team GB brought home two sailing gold medals from Rio another group of sailors have taken on a rather different challenge.

Hundreds of Lymington residents gathered at the town's sea water baths at the weekend to watch the annual Bath Race, organised by Lymington Town Sailing Club.

Those taking part as one of 11 participating teams ranged from children as young as seven up to seasoned adult sailors.

The event, which has been running for several years, sees contestants create their own seagoing vessel from a bath tub before displaying them on the sailing club lawn and finally participating in a race in the baths themselves. The improvised boats are judged by club experts on a variety of categories.

Among the teams taking part on Sunday were four youngsters who had roped two baths together to form 'Three Pirates and a mermaid', while another entrant - dubbed 'Bathy McBathface' in reference to the Boaty McBoatface phenomenon earlier this year - was crewed by two of the area's lifeguards.

The Belmore Lodge Nursing Home, in Milford Road, entered two teams which enjoyed rather mixed fortunes.

The Belmore Bolt won the coveted Golden Bath trophy for coming first, while the ill-fated Belmore Belles won the best capsize prize for overturning spectacularly at the mark.

Organiser Clare Sleigh, from the sailing club, said the event was primarily a fundraiser for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

"It was overcast all day but good fun despite the weather," she said.

"It always attracts a good crowd as it is quite a humorous event. It is mayhem.

"It is nice for us to be involved with the community in this way and to raise funds for the RNLI."

Ringwood Brewery provided the bar for the event, and food in barbecue form was supplied by the sailing club itself.