Birdman winner hands back £1,000 prize

In a letter to the Observer, event directors Jim Brooks and Sarah Boote-Cook said they were delighted with the response from local residents and businesses, especially to The Cheeky Panda, in helping the event go ahead.

However, they said because they had to turn down kind offers for things like free medical support and boats, new professional suppliers had to be booked ‘at a much greater cost than originally planned’.

“In a nutshell, through his close involvement, Sam Penny, our Leonardo da Vinci winner, has become aware of this, and has very generously offered to donate his £1,000 prize money back to the Birdman, so that some of the outstanding bills can be paid, and the organisation is in a better place to start planning for next year,” Jim and Sarah said.