THE popular raft race held between Morwellham Quay and Calstock, due to take place this July, has had to be cancelled due to manpower and insurance difficulties.
The race, which raised valuable funds for Tavistock and District Mencap Society, attracted a huge entry of rafts last year.
But this week Tavistock Mencap said, regretfully, the event planned for July 11 will not take place.
Josceline Watson, of Tavistock Mencap, said: 'We are without a chairman and we are also very low on committee members; in fact, there is a possibility that the society in Tavistock may close if we don't fill these positions.
'Due to the size of the committee we can't possibly run something as risky as the raft race, and with new insurance restrictions, health and safety and risk assessments, we can't actually go ahead with it this year.'
Josceline said the society was very sorry to disappoint those who had intended to enter the race — if the situation improved as far as committee member numbers were concerned, the society would consider running the race next year.
And she urged anyone with an interest in the vital work supported by Mencap to consider getting involved and standing as a committee member.
'We basically support people with learning difficulties within the community,' said Josceline. 'We run a welcome centre at the Alexander Centre in Tavistock; there's a singing group, a drama group — we give out as much money as we can to help organisations.
'For example, there are a lot of people living in homes who have no-one with them at Christmas, so we give support so they can buy presents. We also help the Gateway Club, which has about 60 to 70 members from the ages of 18 to 80.'
Anyone who would like to get involved or stand as a committee member for Tavistock and District Mencap Society is welcome to come along to the annual meeting to be held at the Molly Owen Centre on June 14 at 7.30pm.