DURHAM City's grand duck race made a big splash for charity yesterday.

The banks of the River Wear and the Elvet and Kingsgate bridges were packed with spectators as the Mayor of Durham, Councillor Ray Gibbon, and Trevor Soar, commanding officer of the city's adopted warship, HMS Invincible, which is on a four-day visit to the region, unloaded 10,000 yellow plastic ducks into the water from the buckets of two JCBs.

Good weather meant the ducks negotiated the 200-metre stretch of river in about 90 minutes.

Organisers the Durham Marketing Initiative and Durham University Charities Kommittee (Duck) were delighted with the turnout.

Up to 9,000 tickets for the £1 ducks were sold, with about 50 bigger birds sold to firms for £25 each.

Colin Wilkes, of the marketing initiative, said: "We were banking on it taking about two hours.

"There was a nice breeze that helped, but it changed and blew the other way. Fortunately it didn't last.

"It was a nice spectacle and the turnout was marvellous.

"It has been really excellent and I can't thank everyone enough.''

There are plans to make the race an annual event.

The winners will be announced later this week.

Proceeds from the race will go to St Cuthbert's Hospice, Wateraid, the charity dedicated to improving water supplies in developing countries, and the mayor's appeal for the Durham Volunteer Bureau.