FLIPPING chaos was served to a crowd of spectators at Winchester Cathedral during the inaugural Shrove Tuesday pancake race.

The event was organised by Winchester Rotary, and a track was set up in Cathedral Close using cones to outline two straight lanes, with 'waiting zones' at either end.

It saw 20 teams go head to head in the relay, including groups of supermarket staff, Hampshire firefighters, charity workers and members of the cathedral.

Vice Dean, Rv'd Canon Roland Riem, left the track after completing his two lengths, and told the Chronicle: "It's very windy! But it's okay, it just furthers the chaos to this brilliant charity event. This is a fantastic turn out.

"What I have learned, though, is that the technique is mostly in the knees and hips!"

Competitors were given a frying pan with a pancake in and were told to flip it at the start line, sprint along the lanes, flip it again at the halfway mark, then head to the end to swap with a teammate.

Former Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Jane Rutter, was part of the ex-Mayor's team alongside Cllr Richard Izard, Cllr Dominic Hiscock and Cllr Therese Evans.

She said: "I think the others slowed me down a bit! Of course, us old mayors don't usually do running and our combined age is 268, so we did well.

"But being here was a bit of fun and wearing the robes added a bit of gravitas, too."

The overall winning team with the fastest time was a group of children from St Bede Primary School in Gordon Road.

An award was also presented to the group of workers from Night Shelter Winchester for having the best attire.

City councillor Derek Green, who was at the event, said: "It's nice to see it being so well supported. The turnout is impressive and it's been really fun to watch."

Proceeds from the event will go to Winchester Cathedral and be distributed to local charities.