Boat team appeal to find dragon's head

The team said the decorative head fell off and sank near to Christchurch Sailing Club on the River Stour

A racing dragon boat team is appealing for help to locate their boat's dragon head after it fell off in a river.

The crew lost the decorative head in the River Stour off Christchurch, Dorset, on Monday.

Appealing for its return, the team said: "If anyone sees it, it's not the loch ness monster on holiday."

The team, made up of 40 people who have had breast cancer, were training ahead of a dragon boat festival in Rome on 14 October.

Set up in 2008, the boat team is made up from people who have had breast cancer

The Pink Champagne Breast Cancer Survivors Dragon Boat Team said the head went missing near Christchurch Sailing Club, "but it could have ended up anywhere on the river."

They have offered a bottle of pink champagne for its safe return.

The team, which relies on donation grants and fundraising to keep going, said it would need about £350 to replace the head if it is not found.

"It is for decorative purposes only, but it does form an iconic part of dragon boating, which has its origins 2,000 years ago," the team said.

"We still have the dragon's tail, but really you need to have both on the boat."

The team were training ahead of a dragon boat festival in Rome on 14 October

The crew said when they return from Italy they are set to take part in a series of 7.5km races over the winter at Henley-on-Thames against other UK-based teams.

The Dorset-based team started in 2008 set up by a group of breast cancer patients, in collaboration with the breast cancer team at the Royal Bournemouth Hospital and a team of exercise therapists.

"We are now one of 195 teams worldwide, hoping to inspire and encourage other breast cancer survivors," they said.

Dragon boats have crews of up to 16 people who sit in pairs and paddle.

Each boat has a drummer beating time to keep the paddlers in sync, and a helmsperson in the stern to guide the canoe-like vessel.