Preparations for Coracle World Championships in Shrewsbury well under way

The lightweight fibreglass coracles were in need of some light repairs and so Shrewsbury-based automotive retailer, J T Hughes stepped in to offer the body shop services for the restoration work.

Kate Thomas, Shropshire fundraising manager for Macmillan Cancer Support said: “We are very grateful to J T Hughes for both their sponsorship and the offer to repair the six coracles, which got a bit bashed last year. I thought a little patchwork would have been done, but the work has surpassed my expectations and they are all brightly painted too, thanks to the hard work of the body shop technician, Carl Bellingham.”

John Hughes, managing director of JT Hughes Group, said: “Over the last two years, we feel honoured to have been the main sponsor of such an important local event with combines fun and competition in the name of a brilliant cause.

"The Coracle World Championship raised a fantastic sum of £33,700 for Macmillan Cancer Support in Shropshire in 2017, and our company is pleased to have directly supported the outstanding local community work which the charity undertakes.

"As always, JT Hughes will be participating at this year’s event. Our team is already looking forward to a fun afternoon at The Quarry in September.”

Meanwhile the registration for teams of four to enter this year’s championships are open, with the winners awarded the honour of becoming world champions.

Last year the entry was over-subscribed and so, with 48 teams maximum, the organisers advise early booking via their website coracleworldchampionship.co.uk

This year's Coracle World Championships will take place on September 14.