Watch as people take to coracles on the River Severn to play football in honour of Shrewsbury Town legend
An unusual game of football took place in Shrewsbury on Saturday, with players taking to coracles on the River Severn for a kick about.
The event was organised by The Coracle Society in honour of legendary Shrewsbury Town football-fetcher Fred Davies.
Fred was often seen by the river outside the club, retrieving balls from the water that had been kicked out of the stadium and into the river.
Charlie Quinnell, chairman of the Coracle Society, said this event was also to promote the use of the Shrewsbury-style coracle.
"We wanted to give Shrewsbury Coracle a bit of a boost and its most famous user was Fred Davies who used to fish the balls out of the river over by the Meadow, so we've got the cub involved and kicked a ball into the river and chased after it," he said.
He added that the Shrewsbury coracle differs in design to the Ironbridge vessel.
“These are a bit more stable than the Ironbridge ones, and dare I say a little bit better," said Charlie. "They are just a lot of fun.”
He said the Ironbridge-style boats, have become more popular in coracle racing events, including at the World Coracle Championships, which are held a stone’s throw further up the river between the Quarry and Pengern Boat Club.
At around 2pm on Saturday, a ball was kicked into the water near the English Bridge by one of Shrewsbury Town's mascots - Blue the Lion - and coracle paddlers vied for possession in honour of Fred and to promote coracle racing.
“We’re hoping the race will be popular and carry on over subsequent years," Charlie said, who won the event. "It has got people thinking about Shrewsbury coracles again and it's great to see the football club involved again. It is nice to see them being used on the river again."
As well as the Fred Davies race there was a full afternoon of racing and other coracle-based challenges, including to see who can spin around in a circle the most times and who can do “doughnuts” in their boat.
