PLUCKY employees from a Bromsgrove electrical company braved the cold when they joined teams from across the West Midlands in a whitewater rafting charity event.

Three of the 36 teams in the event were from Mr Electric, a branch of the Midlands Electricity (MEB) in Barley Mow Lane, Catshill.

The dare-devil rafters raised £2,000 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and a further £1,700 from an event held earlier in the year.

The money raised by Mr Electric will go to the Bromsgrove branch of the RNLI.

There were three runs of the course, which was at the Canolfan Tryweryn Whitewater Rafting Centre. The first run was for practice, supervised by a professional instructor, and the next two were timed.

The team with the quickest time won, and although the Bromsgrove team had never been whitewater rafting before, the ladies' team scooped fifth place.

"We had a great time," said Mr Electric's Nick Harrold. "We definitely plan on doing it again next year."

Each participant contributed at least £100 to take part in the event and more than £23,000 was raised.

"This year's event has been the best yet," said Tamsin Davies, RNLI event organiser.

" We've had a record number of teams take part and the money raised can help the RNLI continue to save lives at sea."