Record numbers due for long-running boat event

Helen Watkinson said she expected a great weekend of racing

A year after high river levels disrupted preparation, one of England's oldest rowing events is preparing for a weekend in what organisers have called near-perfect conditions.

The annual Shrewsbury Regatta began in 1871 and is organised by the Pengwern Boat Club.

Chair Helen Watkinson said there was a "real buzz around the place" and she expected a record turnout, with more than 300 crews expected to take to the water on Saturday and another 200 on Sunday.

As well as being a spectacle, attracting big crowds to the town, the weekend is the club's major fundraiser and they are currently looking to raise £150,000 to pay for a refit of one of their boat bays.

Ms Watkinson said preparations for the two-day event have taken months but added: "Its been much better this year, I think we've lost only one weekend through the flooding."

She said if anything, the river was dropping lower than usual and they might have to be careful upstream, where the River Severn was getting "quite shallow".

There are due to be 32 clubs taking part over the weekend, another record, she said, with the furthest travelling up from Totnes, Devon.

Ms Watkinson said there would be a bar and barbeque and a big attendance would be a boost for the club which had seen most of its reserves go on the boat bay repairs.

With the forecast predicting sunny weather all weekend, she said she expected a "great weekend of racing", with races setting off every two or three minutes throughout the day.