Organisers of this summer’s Oxenhope Straw Race have announced the event will have a new start point.

It has been confirmed this week that competitors will be setting off from outside Oxenhope’s Keighley & Worth Valley Rail-way station in Station Road.

A race spokesman thanked the railway for the support it has provided this year. She added entrants will be offered free transport on the heritage railway on race day, which is July 13.

This year’s straw race is due to take place a week later than usual in order to avoid a clash with the Tour de France. For years, the race has begun from the Waggon and Horses Inn at Hebden Bridge Road. However, earlier this year, the team behind the Straw Race learned the pub had closed and was being put on the market.

They vowed to continue with the race, but the pub’s closure led to weeks of uncertainty as to where the popular fundraising challenge would begin.

The hugely popular event has generated many thousands of pounds over the years for a variety of local charities. The 2013 event alone raised more than £9,000 for good causes.