Fire Service Take The Pancake Trophy From Star Radio

The fire-fighters took an early lead thanks to Darren Fox and they were never headed,

FLIPPIN’ heck! The new Ely Standard Pancake Race champions are Ely Fire and Rescue team who beat off the competition on Tuesday to win the coveted engraved frying pan trophy.

A crowd gathered in Ely Market Place on Shrove Tuesday to watch teams of four from Waitrose, ADeC, Star Radio, Ely Fire and Rescue and the Ely Standard line up with their pans for the annual relay race, which was sponsored by Waitrose who supplied the ingredients to make the pancakes.

The fire-fighters took an early lead thanks to Darren Fox and they were never headed, despite a desperate chase by Star Radio, the defending champions for the last two years. The winning team of Darren Fox, Dale Allen, Brett Mills and Theresa Barlow recorded a resounding victory over their rivals.

In second place was the Star Radio team of Ryan Taylor, Ellie Powles, Amy Carpenter and Adrian Brookbank who are determined to regain the trophy next year.

The Waitrose team of Andrew Wilkins, Ali Impey, Jenny Candy and Katrina Reeve came in a creditable third, having trained and practised their flipping for weeks beforehand.

In fourth place was the Ely Standard team of Daniel Mansfield, Debbie Davies, Andrew Papworth and Pete Naylor. The hosts slipped a place this year, having finished third in 2010.

In fifth was the gallant ADeC team of Caroline Cawley, Zoe Davidson, Laura Brown and Lorry Spry. Zoe took a hard tumble on the last leg of the race but hauled herself off the floor and finished with pancake intact. If not for that, ADeC may well have beaten the Ely Standard into last place.

photos: available at www.elystandard24.co.uk