A ROW of huge inflatable ducks will be bobbing along at Worcester Racecourse tomorrow where thoroughbred racehorses should have been.

The giant ducks are as an alternative racing fixture for the course, which has been waterlogged by the flooding.

The runners - or should that be swimmers - have been drafted in as a bit of lighthearted relief after the day's racing was called off when water from the river Severn flooded the course last week.

Instead the yellow ducks, measuring around five feet (1.5m) and each representing a different charity will race in the Betfred Grand National.

Local organisations such as St Richard's Hospice, County Air Ambulance, the animal rescue charity Danemere and the Worcestershire Association for the Blind have entered a duck along with the Riding for the Disabled Association, the Greatwood home for retired racehorses and the Hall Green Retired Greyhound Trust.

Each charity will receive 100 from bookmakers Betfred while the winning charity will waddle away with 500.

The racecourse's hospitality manager Jenny Cheshire said: "It could be quite a spectacle."

The ducks are set to race at 12pm and organisers have promised to move the race to the river if there is no water on the racecourse.