THE Flintstones and an entire wedding party were just some of the 218 teams taking part in this year’s Oxenhope Straw Race.

Imaginations ran wild in the fancy dress stakes this year, said organiser Jane Barrett, but not as wild as the participants themselves who dashed from each of the village’s four pubs and social club, drinking a pint at every stop while hauling a bale of hay.

The event began 42 years ago and has only missed one year since due to the foot and mouth crisis in the 1980s.

It has raised about £450,000 in those years, with this year’s event on target to bring in £10,000 to be shared out with charities including Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice in the village.

Mrs Barrett said: “The crowds were incredible, it’s been a really good year. Everything went smoothly after four months of hard work and planning. At this point we’ve reached about £5,000 but by the time we’ve collected in all the sponsorship money it should be about £10,000.”