An event advertised as free but with the public invited to make donations, has raised £40,000 for charities.

Dunmow Broadcast: Action from the Great Dunmow Soapbox Race. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTOAction from the Great Dunmow Soapbox Race. Picture: SAFFRON PHOTO (Image: Roger King)

The final amount raised at the second Great Dunmow Soapbox Race on May 26 has come in at just over £40,000 for charties including Mind in west Essex and St Clare Hospice.

There were 49 teams from all over the country who descended on the town, watched by a crowd of some 20,000 people.

The challenging course down Braintree Road included jumps, chicanes and, new for this year, blizzard alley.

The winners of this year's event were the Dunmow team the Flitch House.

Round Table organiser Jordan Bright, said: "The event was billed as a free event, but members of the public dug deep, for Mind West Essex and St Clare Hospice, as well as an amount being ringfenced to invest back into community projects and good causes within the Great Dunmow community."