ENGINES revved and crowds roared as the drivers lined up near the starting flag.
But this was not just any race – this was lawnmower racing and it was back in Braintree for the ninth year on the trot.
Thirty competitors arrived at the Blake House Craft Centre, Blake End, in their jazzed-up lawnmowers on Friday evening in preparation for three days of solid mower racing.
They were taking part in the Essex heats of the British Lawnmower Racing Association Championships.
Each of the mower-mad men raced around the field that was lined with hay bales as crash barriers, as they competed in varying categories, from those for roller-driven mowers to those for sit-on machines that could reach up to 50 mph.
Sharon Potter, 66, who runs the restaurant at Blake House, said: "It was an absolutely horrendously busy weekend.
"But it's all really quite thrilling to watch, hundreds and hundreds came along. There were a few smash-ups but they were sorted out by St John's Ambulance.
All money raised over the weekend went to the Essex Air Ambulance charity.
