FEELINGS were whisked into a frenzy at a Preston nursery as eager young cooks took turns to toss the pancakes.

Tots at the Carey Child Care Centre on Pole Street helped staff to whip up the batter and polish off the pancakes to celebrate Shrove Tuesday.

Manageress Paula Bastable said: "They were all allowed to take a turn at stirring the batter before a member of staff cooked it and they thought it was great fun - eating them was even better!"

Other events organised to mark pancake day didn't get off to such a good start, however.

Ronald McDonald was due to make an appearance in Preston to challenge local milkmen to a pancake race - but failed to make the starting line-up due to a bout of 'flu.

Preston's milkmen decided the show must go on and raced with their frying pans up Friargate.

But a fancy dress pancake race in Worden Park, Leyland, came to a halt before it even started. The event was cancelled due to lack of interest and the wet weather but organisers have promised it won't be a wash-out next year.

"We'll get schools and colleges involved and make a real go of it," said a spokesperson for the parks.

The pancake dash has long been a traditional event in Britain on Shrove Tuesday.

The day is known in many other countries as Mardi Gras, or fat Tuesday, as Christians were historically encouraged to use up all the fat stored in their kitchens before Lent, which is a period of fasting and abstinence.

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