A cathedral city's annual pancake races have been scrapped this year because of health and safety considerations.
The Shrove Tuesday event was revived in Ripon, North Yorkshire, 11 years ago with local children, traders, clergy and soldiers competing.
Its start was signalled by the ringing of the cathedral's ancient Pancake Bell which has been sounded at 11am on the day for at least 600 years.
Things will fall flat on Tuesday, however, without the usual pancake tossing runs from the West Front and up Kirkgate to the finish line.
Dean of Ripon, the Very Rev Keith Jukes, co-organiser of the races, explained that they had reluctantly had to call a halt.
He said: "We have looked at this and there are a number of reasons it won't take place and a big reason sadly this year is health and safety.
"Any organisation which runs an event has to go through a number of risk assessments. The insurance companies demand it and in the end you have to work out whether it's a risk you take.
**No real surprise this, after all here in the UK there is no such thing as innocent fun any more, everything has to be risk assessed, checked, double checked and rubber stamped by a million state employees before it can go ahead.
After all we can't have people putting themselves at risk from killer pancakes.
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2 people have spoken:
I wonder if these people are stupid enough to ban work, because you know, you might get injured while working. Nah they won't do that, who'll pay their salaries then.
Everything is banned now here in the UK, well unless New Labour get a cut of it of course...
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