A THOUSAND plastic ducks and 50 giant marrows were on show as almost £3,000 was raised for charity.

The Underbarrow Marrow Day saw the green and yellow vegetables lined up to challenge for four titles, and the ducks raced down river, as the day raised £2,855 for cancer charities for local people.

Organiser Anne Atkinson said the event had attracted about 100 people to the village and described what the ‘best-looking marrow’ judges were looking for - smooth, regular appearance and attractive colourings.

“The smaller marrows are much better-looking. The big ones get a bit wrinkled,” she said.

The titles of heaviest marrow, heaviest local marrow, and best-looking pair and single marrow were hotly contested.

Weighing in at 84-and-a-half pounds, Roger Jones’s vegetable took the heaviest marrow title, more than five pounds ahead of its nearest rival.

A bouncy castle, cake, book and plant stalls, a barbeque, tombola, face painting and a raffle all helped to turn the pennies into pounds, as Mrs Atkinson admitted and laughed: “We do whatever we can to try to get money out of people.” ABOVE: Mr Jones, of Far Sawrey, with the heaviest marrow. (Contributed picture)