The race, which took place at Bourton-on-the-water in the Cotswolds, angered one local resident so much they called the police, invoking an ancient law that prohibits fundraising on a Sunday.

The event was meant to raise money for Blood Bikes, a charity offering a medical equipment delivery service and free blood to the NHS.

However, police descended on the event and threatened to arrest the organisers if they continued with the illegal race.

Bystander Jonathan Dixon said: “It was like something out of the film Hot Fuzz. Surely the cops have got better things to do than stop a rubber duck race in the Cotswolds.”

But one local told Gloucestershire Live that it is “frankly unfair to expect the villagers to put up with such nonsense from these undesirables who ruin the peace and quiet and then accuse us of being kill-joys.”

A police spokesperson said: “At about 2.45pm on Sunday, June 19, 2016, police responded to a complaint that a number of motorbikes were parked on the village green, contravening a local bylaw protecting the site.

“An officer asked the riders to move their bikes, which they kindly did. Organisers of the duck race were given advice about guidelines and permissions governing the staging of events on the green.”