Pancake race beats policy problem

The pancake race has been staged since the mid-1990s

A children's pancake race which had been cancelled over spiralling insurance costs is back on again.

The traditional event for pupils at Okehampton Primary School in Devon was scrapped after insurance for the race rose from £75 to a quoted £280.

Organisers were also told 25 marshals would be needed to man the 50-yard course to ensure public safety.

But mayor Christine Marsh said a broker had now offered to insure the event for £60 after reading of the town's plight.

A firm of crepe manufacturers which had intended to sponsor the event on Shrove Tuesday, has offered to pay the premium.

Under the new insurance deal, only 33 children from the school will take part in the four-race event.

But marshals will not be required for the course in the town's Red Lion Yard - which is pedestrianised.

The number of spectators will also be limited to 200.

"We will have members of the town council going along, and we were told we would need a first aid box and a first aider," said Mrs Marsh.

"It is a great relief the race is going ahead.

"I think what has happened highlights spiralling insurance costs."

Last year, organiser Derek Godfrey-Brown paid the £75 public liability insurance bill himself.

But he had no option but to cancel when faced with the original £280 quote for this year's event, saying: "I cannot ask the children to pay."

At that stage Mrs Marsh said it was another example of bureaucracy ruining simple pleasures.

A spokesman for the British Insurance Broker's Association said the UK was an increasingly litigious society, and people wanted to cover their backs should an accident occur.