SUNDAY’S annual Chester raft race has been postponed due to the swollen River Dee and predicted rainfall over the weekend.

Organisers of the 37th Chester Rotary Charity Raft Race, which was to have attracted about 30 entries, decided it was too dangerous to proceed.

The intended course began near the Boat House Inn with the finish line just over the weir.

Spokesman Brendan Witter said: “The volume of water does give cause for concern from a safety point of view. We have spoken to Bala control and there is a tremendous amount of water falling on the Welsh hills and the expectation is the river would have been high on Sunday any way.

“Reluctantly we have taken the decision to postpone on safety grounds.”

Brendan, who says the raft race will still take place later in the summer, added: “It’s a shame because so many people put so much effort into it.

“But we would be the first to be criticised, given all the warnings, if there was a mishap.”

A team from the Old Harkers Arms had been busy putting the finishing touches to their raft, Where Eagles Dare. In past years Harkers have entertained the crowds with their creative rafts, which include Batman, a Lotus car, the Titanic and a wagon train.

The theme for this year’s race was The Slowest, Lowest, Weakest Crazy Sporting Incidents and the chosen main charity was Macmillan Cancer Support.

This year’s sponsors are Hillyer McKeown, Urenco Capenhurst, Cheshire Waste and Skip Hire, United Air Power, Greif UK and Peacock Garage.