Soap box race organisers brace for ‘destruction’

The organisers of an annual soapbox race say spectators should expect a day of “mayhem and destruction.”

Preparations are under way for the Berkeley Soap Box Challenge, which is taking place in the Gloucestershire town this Sunday 15 September.

22 homemade karts will race down a 500-metre hill to raise money for three Gloucestershire charities.

Competing this year is BBC Radio Gloucestershire breakfast presenter Jon Smith, who is building a kart with the Matson Community Shed.

The event used to be called the Purton Soapbox Challenge in 2018 and 2019, before it stopped because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We then moved to the other side of Berkeley and have been given a large hill by the Berkeley estate," said Philip Pritchard, the event’s chief organiser.

"It’s 500 metres long, and there will be 22 karts going down that hill on Sunday.”

Mr Pritchard said “chaos” is the best way to describe the event, which is raising money for the Gloucestershire Society, Purton Church Roof Fund and volunteer lifeboat search and rescue charity SARA.

“It will be a couple of jumps and a water splash,” he said. “And each team has to do a dance for 20 seconds before they descend.

“Soapboxes made of bits and pieces - I don’t think all 22 will be intact at the end!”

Mr Pritchard invited BBC Radio Gloucestershire to take part and offered up a soapbox.

Breakfast presenter Jon Smith said listeners have been in touch with ideas for the kart and offers of help.

“The school children at St Mary’s in Churchdown have come up with a lot of the drawings and the ideas, and we’ve had some bonkers suggestions for names and sound tracks from lots of our listeners," he said.

“It’s going to be a brilliant race on Sunday, I’m definitely not going to win - I don’t think!”

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.