THE Big Hereford Duck Race returned today (August 25), with 6,000 rubber ducks racing down the river.

The bright yellow plastic ducks were launched from Hunderton Bridge and made their way down the river Wye as part of the annual event.

A £1,000 prize was up for grabs for the winning duck, with other prizes given to runners up.

Businesses also took part in the event by donating to the fundraiser, which was in aid of various local and international charities.

The race has been a consistent success, with thousands of tickets sold each year.

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A spokesperson for Hereford City Rotary Club said last year: "Planning a duck race is no mean feat.

“The ducks are corralled into pens of 1,000 then decanted into boxes of 100. Each box of 100 ducks is then put into numbered bags, checked and double-checked to make sure each ticket we sell is allocated to a duck.

“During this process there is a lot of cleaning of ducks, laughing and counting. When all the ducks are sorted they are stored in bags ready for the big day.”