Greenhous DAF crew wins Shrewsbury charity raft race challenge

Shrewsbury bragging rights went to the Greenhous DAF team which won the second annual Morris Lubricants Raft Race for charity on the River Severn on Sunday.

Thirteen crews of ‘pirates’ put their sailing skills to the test as they floated down the Severn from Bicton to the showground in Shrewsbury, where they lined up for the race to Porthill Bridge.

The race, which was part of Shrewsbury River Festival and had a pirates theme, hopes to have raised around £5,000 for the Midlands and Wales Air Ambulances Services, Morris Lubricants’ adopted charities this year.

Runners up were Burnt Tree and third were Morris Lubricants. The Salop Leisure eye-catching raft, which was built in the shape of a caravan, brought up the rear as it paid the penalty for being much heavier than its rivals.

Also competing were teams from Bearing Man, Gately Wareing, Lloyds Bank, Morris Property, Multisol, Rea Valley Tractors, Midlands Air Ambulance, J. T. Hughes and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

“It was a fantastic, fun event which has raised a significant sum of money for two very worthy causes,” said Morris Lubricants’ managing director Andrew Goddard. “We managed to avenge our recent charity football match defeat at the hands of Salop Leisure by beating them on the water.”

Race organiser Phil Gittins from Morris Lubricants revealed that the rafts were much quicker this year due to the extra flow of water in the Severn following Saturday’s rain. “The crews got to the Welsh Bridge in Shrewsbury about an hour faster than last year, when the river flow was much slower,” he said.

The raft race is part of Morris Lubricants’ annual charity fundraising challenge. Over the past two years the business, in association with sister company Morris Leisure, has raised £20,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust and £12,000 for Severn Hospice.

The River Festival, a day of family fun in the Quarry Park, is organised by Shrewsbury and Shropshire Waterways and Leisure Group to teach people about water safety awareness.