VIDEO and GALLERY: 33 teams took to River Severn for Shrewsbury Dragon Boat Festival

A total of 33 teams took to the River Severn for dragon boat races.

Organised by Severn Hospice, the races saw groups of 16 rowers and one drummer take to the water at Shrewsbury School Rowing Club and battle it out through the heats to be named champion.

Racing three boats at a time, the teams were whittled down to the final six who competed in the grand final.

Taking the title in 2015 was 2 Can Army from Telford and determined to defend their honour, they were in the first batch of rowers and set off at a blistering pace.

However, the could only come third, behind winners Sparkies Afloat.

"We were in it to win it," said Lewis Ayres, 25 from Apley.

"We had to defend our title from last year. We have been training hard for the race and are all friends and colleagues from Summerhouse Bathrooms and Kitchens in Telford. It has been a real team building exercise for us and we have been looking forward to it all year.

We have already raised around £1,500. It is all about having fun and having a few beers in the sun."

The event, which is now in its 13th year, has so far raised more than £500,000 for the hospice and the money is used to help thousands of people in Shropshire and Mid Wales including in-patient care and hospice at home.

Winners of the Fancy Dress competition were Meole Marvels, a group of staff from Meole Brace Secondary School who were dressed as 80s pop stars.

Spokeswoman Hazel Starnes, 52, from Ellesmere said: "We came up with the theme for the fancy dress after a night out.

"We never thought we would win but it is great to do so. We have never entered the race before so we didn't really know what to expect.

"We have raised £1,000 for the hospice so far by holding cake sales, sponsored events in the school and we are planning to hold a Bastille Day. The pupils think we are mad doing this but we have had a great time. Everyone has been up for a laugh and it feels fantastic."

Another team competing for the title were the In Crowd, a group of digital marketers from Shrewsbury. Their theme for fancy dress was 'Going to Wimbledon' so they took to the water complete with ponchos and mini umbrellas and had a cool glass of Pimms waiting for them on the riverbank.

Ryan Powell, 23, from Sundorne said: "This is the first time we have done anything like this. We have had £1,300 in in donations so far from all our friends and family as well as from company directors and members of our freelance community. Although there are 19 people in our crew, we have about 30 people with us."

Anyone wanting to enter next year's race should go to www.severnhospice.org.uk