THE 51st staging of the annual Monmouth Raft Race, organised by Monmouth Rotary Club, raised a total of £31,856 for charity.

The main beneficiary of the 2016 event was St David’s Hospice Care which received £23,892, around 75 per cent, of the total money raised.

The event saw 99 entries including 23 alone from logistics firm DHL.

The remaining money raised through the Monmouth Raft Race will go to other local charitable causes supported by Monmouth Rotary Club.

Monmouth Raft Race 2016 was sponsored by Basepoint, DHL, Mandarin Stone, Siltbusters, Module IT and Jolly Clothing.

Rotary President Roger Finn was at the head of a group from Monmouth Rotary Club and sponsors DHL who visited St David’s Hospice Day Care Centre in Newport, to tour the £5 million in-patient centre currently under construction in Malpas.

Mr Finn, presenting the cheque, said: “Monmouth Rotary Club were delighted to demonstrate our continued unique bond with St David’s Hospice Care by handing over the cheque for money raised from the Monmouth Raft Race 2016 and also to have a hard hat tour of the wonderful new hospice facility in Newport conducted by the charity’s chief executive Emma Saysell.

“Monmouth Rotary Club have been organising the Monmouth Raft Race, in its 52nd year in 2017, for the past 14 years and in that time the event has gone from strength to strength.

“We’re once more thrilled to have been able to donate such a marvellous amount of money to St David’s Hospice Care to help them to continue to provide vital hospice and related services to those with life threatening illnesses throughout our community.”