MORE than 600 people took to the River Wye in inflatables ranging from dinghies to paddling pools during an event opened by former Olympic ski jumper Eddie the Eagle.

Based on a popular annual festival held in Helsinki, Finland, the inaugural Wye Float was held in Hereford on Saturday and saw participants choose a range of inflatables, including flamingos, unicorns and homemade rafts, to travel down a route on the Wye.

The event raised money for four charity organisations and there was also live music, food and drink vendors and other entertainment for the participants and supporting spectators.

One of the organisers, Ed Taylor, said: "It went really well. We have had lots of positive feedback, both on Facebook and from people coming up to us after the event.

"Our volunteers worked extremely hard – we are very proud of them. We do hope to do it again next year and would encourage more people to come down. We had live music and entertainment at the Rowing Club and we want to push the music side of things next year and make it an evening thing as well.

"We had also promoted the fact that it was a no alcohol event which people stuck to and there was no trouble and the river was left clean and tidy – we barely had to pick up any rubbish after.

"We were covering a big distance and it could have been quite hard to manage but it was done well and it's all down to the volunteers and participants."

The charities supported by the event were Affinity Trust, Bone Cancer Research Trust, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham and Hereford Youth Canoe Club.

Volunteers are also being sought to help out on the day.