SHROVE Tuesday was celebrated across York and North Yorkshire with an array of pancake-flipping activities.

Clergy and members of the public donned fancy dress to take part in the traditional pancake race at Ripon Cathedral, while at Acomb in York the traders’ association, Acomb Alive, put on a pancake race for shopkeepers and residents in Front Street.

The event was run jointly with Churches Together in Acomb, and the Community Development Foundation, with teams from local businesses and pupils from Westfield School joining in the fun.

Andrew Waller, secretary of Acomb Alive, said: “A lot of people turned up and the fastest team on the day was Martin House. The individual race was an eight-second course record by David Grierson, who runs Green Lane Carpets.”

Elsewhere, in Wistow, about 50 children at the primary school took part in their own race and in Ryedale, celebrity chef James Martin demonstrated how to flip the perfect pancake.

James, executive chef at the Talbot Hotel in Malton, whipped up a batch of pancakes ahead of one of his gourmet dinners.

“This is our third event and one of the busiest yet with 86 guests,” he said.