Bunny hop race is saved
Hospice staff in Oswestry have stepped in to save an Easter bunny hop. The Llangollen event was axed amid fears competitors could make a claim if they fell over.
But it has been saved after Hope House Children's Hospices offered to put the event on its insurance.
The annual hop has now been renamed the Hope House Bunny Hop and will be held on April 5.
The hop has seen scores of men, women and children, dressed as rabbits, hopping along the main streets of the town.
It was first introduced three years ago and attracts hundreds of visitors to the town.
Llangollen Enterprise, the original organisers, found the costs of insuring the event too high, but it has now become a Hope House event, with the charity undertaking all necessary risk assessments before placing it on their own events insurance.
The move has been welcomed by businesses in the town, who thought they had seen the end of this highly popular event.
Judith Dodd, Llangollen Enterprise chairman, said: "This is great news and we're extremely grateful to Hope House for taking on the hop and saving it.
"It now gives us all something to look forward to this coming Easter and hopefully for a fair few into the future as well."
The event will be held on April 5, with heats taking place before the main race, which is expected to start at noon. Everybody who enters will be guaranteed a chocolate egg, with bigger prizes on offer for heat winners as well as for the hop itself.
Mrs Dodd said: "This year all hops will be take place in Parade Street, by the town museum."
