THERE were figgy puddings aplenty in the Royal Square yesterday lunchtime as Jersey hosted its first Great Christmas Pudding Race.

The event was fund-raising for Cancer Research and organisers say that it could have raised up to £10,000. The Island is only the second place to host an event of this kind and it is based on one held annually in London’s Covent Garden.

Twenty teams entered the competition but the eventual winners were PricewaterhouseCoopers. Park Personnel’s team, Park Puddings, picked up the prize for the best fancy-dress category, with all of their team members dressed up as Christmas puddings and presents.

A variety of teams from local organisations took part in the challenge, including one made of members of the Judicial Greffe and even one made up of States Members. The Oddballs consisted of Senator Mike Vibert, Senator Philip Ozouf and Deputies Andrew Lewis, Patrick Ryan and Judy Martin.

All of the teams taking part in yesterday’s event were told to wear fancy dress so the 120 Islanders competing turned up dressed as Santas, elves, Christmas puddings, superheroes and even reindeers.