A host of television, sports and showbiz personalities helped raise more than £30,000 for the Helen House hospice in Oxford by taking part in a charity go-kart event at the Grove Technology Park.

Twelve teams of eight took turns at the wheel as part of the two-hour endurance race around a road circuit.

Each team was allotted a celebrity as captain -- the line-up including Jeremy Clarkson, TV stars Noel Edmonds, Brian Conley, Ruby Wax and Ross Kemp, Will Carling, professional car-testers Tiff Needell and Vickie Butler-Henderson, and powerboat racing champion, Steve Curtis.

The Audi team, captained by rugby player Will Carling, won the event by completing 200 laps.

Runners-up were Ross Kemp's team, sponsored by MPA Fingal, while the Jeremy Clarkson-sponsored team of Tiff Needell and friends came third.

The fundraising event, which was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company and Top Gear magazine, concluded with a prize-giving dinner, followed by an auction.

Steve Head, from Grove 2000 plc, said: "We were delighted to provide the venue in support of the fine work of Helen House."