Chelsea pensioners gatecrash sports day and put on special races for the children

  • Watch Frankie Howell and Helen Jane talking about the racing pensioners

A group of 8 Chelsea Pensioners with an average age of 80 years old have taken part in a sports day on the Isles of Scilly.

The pensioners sailed to the Isles of Scilly aboard a Tall Ship with the Cornish veteran sailing charity Turn to Starboard.

They joined the Five Islands Academy sports day on St Agnes and took place in a special race for the pupils which included jumping through hoops and an egg and spoon race.

Helen Jane the Operations Manager of Turn to Starboard said: “They’re just brilliant, they’re so much fun, they’ve got so much energy it’s unbelievable we had a fantastic day on sports day on St Agnes yesterday, five of them ran an obstacle race which was hilarious.

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She added: "One of them was rolling around doing hand stands and all sorts, it was bizarre, they were running around with Chelsea Pensioner hats on, it was amazing, we had a brilliant time.”

Frankie Howell the Company Captain of The Royal Hospital Chelsea said: “They will be talking about this for a very long time, I would say experiences like this will extend their life. Some of them are well into their 80s and this can only be good for their health.”