REVELLERS are currently selecting their craziest outfits and testing their pram-pushing skills as they prepare for one of Oxfordshire's quirkiest yearly events.

This year, the village of Bampton will will play host its 65th Annual Shirt Race, which sees competitors push each other around in prams, stopping at watering holes along the way for half pints of beer.

The event, which was originally held to celebrate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, also includes a fancy dress parade, with scores of people dressing as an array of wild and wonderful characters and pouring through the streets.

Don Rouse is the race coordinator for the Society for the Preservation of Ancient Junketing (Spajers), a charity which organises the event to raise finds for the village's elderly residents. The first race was held on the day of his 16th birthday.

He said: “The village had 11 pubs back then and the idea was we'd race through the village on prams drinking everywhere on the way - with the winner taking home five gallons of beer.

"There have been some changes but the main idea remains the same. It’s quirky, it’s wacky, it’s fun – and it’s the whole community of Bampton coming together. The main point of the event is to have a laugh.”

When looking for a way to celebrate the coronation, villagers in Bampton came together to raise funds to mark the occasion, as people did all over the UK.

Mr Rouse, 79, said: “They were planning on having one hell of a party and they really did. They had a number of things going on through the week, including a ladies football match, but the main event was, of course, the shirt race.”

The event requires teams of two to dress in nightshirts and push each other around the village in a pram, stopping at four pubs and four other spots to swig half a pint along the way. Adults enjoy beer while younger competitors in the two under-18 categories gulp down orange juice.

'Chariots' with teams of three or more compete at the same time as the teams of two to add to the fun and chaos of the popular event.

While people might expect the booze taken by the adult competitors to lead to unfortunate incidents – the younger teams are not immune to disaster.

Mr Rouse said: “Last year in the youngsters’ race there were about 20 to 30 teams. There was such a race to the first pub that someone lost control of a pram and knocked over the drinks table and orange juice went absolutely everywhere."

This year has a new category of 12 to 17-year-olds, slotting between the junior category (up to 11) and the adult group (18 and above).

The fancy dress parade takes place in the evening and will be judged by the Reverend David Lloyd and his wife Jenny. They last judged the show 21 years ago as part of their inauguration to Bampton’s quirky way of life. With Mr Lloyd retiring, the Spajers committee thought it would be a nice idea to send him off by letting him judge again.

Last year Spajers gave its elderly members £25 each at Christmas. This summer they will be offered a coach trip to Weymouth.

The shirt race will be held in the village on Saturday, May 27.

The event raises about £1,000 each year for Spajers, which is donated to the charity’s elderly members.

Those wanting to take part in the race or the fancy dress parade can head to High Street (with a pram, if competing in the race) at 6.45pm on the day. It is free to take part, with money raised from collections throughout the evening.