DO you remember the annual raft race in Harwich?

Teams were invited to make their own rafts out of everything and anything they could find.

Often competitors would take to the water in old bathtubs or even create replica Viking vessels as they battled it out to be named king of the high seas.

The event attracted hundreds of people down to the beach at the peak of its popularity but was pulled from the summer schedule in 2011.

As well as the main event side stalls and live music used to line the sand to keep visitors entertained.

Then organisers the Harwich Sub Aqua Club were forced to pull the plug because of a lack of volunteers and a poor financial performance.

Just four years earlier the group had revived the event which had been cancelled because of rubbish on the beach causing health and safety concerns.

The Harwich and Dovercourt Rotary Club were rumoured to be taking over the event and running it alongside the hugely popular Sea Festival but it never came to fruition.