Yorkshire licensee giving away 21,600 chicken drumsticks to raise money for cancer charity

Ray Thompson, owner of the freehouse Wrygarth Inn in Great Hatfield, Hull, initially wanted to give the drumsticks he won in a competition to food banks.

But after being unable to secure a deal with any of the supermarkets he approached, he came up with the idea of using the chicken to raise money for MacMillan cancer research and Hornsea Rotary Club (which raises money for local charities) by sponsoring eating challenges in pubs across the county.

Thompson said as well as raising money for the charity, hosting one of the events could be considerably beneficial for business, with the licensee that raises the most money set to win a free helicopter flight over their pub.

He said: “If you’re a small, country pub with maybe 6 people in on a Monday night, then if you can get twenty entries not only will they be drinking but they will all have brought their friends and families along and it could raise quite a lot of money for the pubs themselves.

Businesses who want to take part must raise a minimum of £15 to enter before hosting an event, which takes the form of a time trial.

Thompson said: “We give [each competitor] ten chicken drumsticks and the one that finishes in the best time will go on to take place in a final which will take place in a couple of months.

“I think if we manage to raise £30,000 or £40,000 that would be a great result – that’s a hell of a lot of money.”

Final prizes for diners who take part in the challenges are yet to be confirmed, but Thompson said he expected the first place winner to take home roughly £100.