Hand-made carts race through Herefordshire countryside

The annual Soap box Derby returned to the village of Richards Castle, between Leominster and Ludlow on the border of Herefordshire and Shropshire.

The event, that has been entertaining crowds since 2004, took place on Sunday, June 26, saw a record number of entries.

Organisers say a total of 38 soap boxes took to the track at Hadway Common in the village.

They say racers travelled from as far as Plymouth and Hertfordshire as well as some favourite local entries such as the Orleton Primary school red bus, Wallace and Gromit, and the return of the Trotter family with their yellow Reliant Robin.

It also featured a new kart built from scratch from scrap especially for the event by Daniel Railean, from Ludlow. This was raced by Mr Railean before being auctioned for £300 later in the day.

Daniel Railean's cart made from scrap that was raced and auctioned off at the event. Picture courtesy of Kate Tudge

Mr Railean said: "I wanted to challenge myself. I'm not a fabricator or a welder by any means but the idea of making something out of a huge pile of scrap and unwanted items intrigued me.

"I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who sponsored us, gave us access to their scrap bin and donated parts and time to help us get the ScrapBox racer ready."

This year's event raised funds the Ludlow Ukrainian Refugee Support Group, The Hope Centre in Bromyard, which works to connect the town's community with a wide range of different services, and Ludlow’s Men in Sheds, a community initiative to tackle male isolation.

Organisers are hopeful of raising in excess of £10,000 for the three charities from the day.

A spokesperson for the event said: "Thank you to everyone who came along today......competitors, helpers, vendors and spectators. We’ve had a brilliant bumper soapbox derby."