A HAMPSHIRE mayor threw himself into charity work - literally - when he took a dip at a fundraising event.

Thousands of people filled a Romsey Memorial Park to watch as the Mayor of Romsey Cllr John Parker was soaked at the town’s flagship Mayor’s picnic and duck race when he took on the ‘Soaker Bloker Drencher Wrencher’.

The event was launched by the Romsey Old Cadets band who performed as they marched through the town centre and into the park with the mayor and delegates from the Rotary club, escorted by three fire engines.

During the afternoon, the mayor also crowned Romsey’s carnival queen Naomi Reading for a second time.

Meanwhile, families were entertained with live music from the Mountbatten Community Choir and the Mountbatten Big Band, dancers from the Academy School of Dance and Romsey Scouts sprinted through an assault course while browsing an array of charity stalls.

And visitors had the chance to win prizes when a raft of plastic ducks raced along the river test.

Tony Trowsdale from the Rotary Club of Romsey Test said: “The day went well. The mayor got a thorough soaking but everybody else stayed dry because we had lovely weather.”

Neill Beasley added: “It was a perfect afternoon. We had thousands of people there.”

The event raised hundreds for charities supported by the Rotary Club.