THE gears are in motion for the return of this year's Hereford City Regatta.

The premier rowing event was cancelled last year due to insufficient entries.

Organisers of the annual regatta also struggled to find a good date on the British rowing calendar over the last few years.

But now it is back and will take place over the weekend of June 6 and 7.

"We have changed the date to June from August and it is a new event," said Hereford Rowing Club captain Hayley Birch.

"Originally it was going to the May Bank Holiday on the back of the Monmouth Regatta, but decided to change it to August.

"But that had problems and are now hoping to attack more juniors in the summer.

"We are hoping that this is going to work."

The Hereford City Regatta has long been established as one of the biggest rowing events in the country.

Open, women's and junior classes are set to take place across the weekend, with 500m and 1,000m downstream races on offer.

Anyone who wants to sponsor the event can call Hereford Rowing Club regatta secretary Kay Parker on 01432 273915.

Meanwhile, the recent fun regatta saw more than 20 entries, which included teams from Saxty's, Greyhound Rugby Club, thePoint4, Church Street Dental Practice and Hereford County Hospital.

Will Brown, Sam Dudley, Ben Davidson, Rory Cooper and Frank Ford won the Belmont Plate after beating the Big Robbins team of Wayne White, Lee Simms, Lee White and Robin Morris in the final.

The Mixed Crew winners were Herefordshire and Ludlow College's (HLC) A' team, consisting of Rory Cooper, Louise Abbots, Sam Dudley and Megan Davies, with the Afro Rugby Rowers being crowned ladies' winners.

The best fancy dress team were HLC lecturers Craig Smith, Darren Turner, Matt Ansfield and Nick Preece

The club are running several rower taster sessions for adults throughout the summer.

For more information, email Hayley Birch at hrccaptain@btconnect.com