THE Bounty pub was packed to the 'rafters' as temperatures soared into the 90s at its annual race event.

Party-goers flocked to Bourne End's annual charity Raft Race to watch six teams battle through the heat on their makeshift rafts on Saturday.

The fun and games kicked off at 3pm when teams arrived armed with barrels, ropes and the odd inflatable rhinoceros with which they had one hour to make a sea-worthy vessel.

And as revellers cheered on, the raftsmen took to the water for the gruelling length down Bourne End Marina where pranksters laden with bags of flour lay waiting on the footbridge overhead.

Maidenhead's Hockey Team put in a fine performance before storming past the finishing line in first place.

Dale Dias, 17, a student from Wychwood Rise, Great Missenden, said it was his first time at the race but he would be returning.

He said: "It's brilliant fun. There's such a massive party atmosphere here and everyone is just having a ball."

Beers, a barbecue and a host of challenges, which saw grown men drinking yards of prune juice and youngsters burying their heads in buckets of beans, kept everyone entertained.

Organiser David Wright, landlord of The Bounty. will be handing over raised funds to 'Give a Local Child a Chance', a charity run by Classic Gold Digital radio station in Reading.