The competition was fierce but not-so fast as crowds enjoyed a quacking day of entertainment at a Bordon beauty spot.

Inaugural Farnham & Bordon MP Greg Stafford talked about his constituency’s love for duck races in his opening speech.

And that love was exemplified on July 31 when The Deadwater Valley Trust held its annual Duck Race on the Wey.

Exactly 200 ducks took to the water with a series of heats taking place alongside a range of activities on dry land.

Families followed a trail and tried their hand at duck-themed word searches and colouring while competitors got their feathers ruffled in the sell-out event.

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Quackers, the lot of them: town mayor, Cllr James Fryer, and his town council and DVT colleagues get ready to launch the fowl flotilla. (Deadwater Valley Trust)

The first hundred were released by town mayor, Cllr James Fryer, with assistance from DTV trustees Paul Charmen and Stefan Michal.

Two legs were held with the first 50 from each making the final before 20 firms battled to rule the waves in the inaugural Business Duck Race.

OnTrack Heating saw off a strong challenge from Elitech Solutions to take gold while Firebird Events claimed bronze and fourth ahead of the Royal Exchange.

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The triumphant top three of the business duck race (Deadwater Valley Trust)

A wave of excitement swept the crowd when the mayor and fellow Whitehill town councillors Andy Tree and Linda Delve released the final flotilla.

Number 15 came ahead 65 by a beak while not-so unlucky 13 claimed the final podium spot.

The race for last was even more intense as the three slowest made life very difficult for themselves before 27 crept over the line a good five minutes after the winner.