THE pancake bell rang out from a cathedral yesterday - marking the start of a series of races which brought a city to a standstill.

Children, soldiers, civic leaders and clergymen took to the streets of Ripon, North Yorkshire, for the Shrove Tuesday pancake races.

The city's 38 Regiment Royal Engineers served the pancakes from a field kitchen on the cathedral forecourt before proceedings got under way.

The races are an ancient tradition in Ripon, but were only revived four years ago after a lengthy absence.

The competition originated from the ringing of the cathedral's pancake bell, which has sounded every Shrove Tuesday for at least 600 years.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Reverend John Methuen, said: "Pancake Races on Shrove Tuesday were like village sports in days gone by - the last chance to have fun before the solemn season of Lent."