A BUILDERS’ merchant invited would-be rugby players to try their hand at scoring into a cement mixer – raising money for Durham RUFC at the same time.

For each rugby ball successfully thrown into the mixer, Travis Perkins made a £5 donation to the club, with all the money raised going to buying a new new defibrillator for the clubhouse.

The winner, an unnamed customer, got the title of Durham’s Ultimate Cement Mixer Champion and £200 worth of Tesco vouchers.

Travis Perkins Durham branch manager Ian Duncan said: “Travis Perkins is a long time supporter of rugby having sponsored the Northampton Saints since 2001, so we really wanted the chance to help support local grassroots teams too.”

He added: “It was a really fun event and everyone got involved on the day.”

The final figure raised from the cement mixer challenge was £335, with 67 points were scored in total.

Joining in the challenge were Durham City RUFC fly-half Charlie Scott, 19, wing Gary Izomor, 18, and fullback Rob Smith, 30. They scored 10 tries between them.

Rob said: “I think this is a fantastic thing Travis Perkins are doing to support local rugby and the club.”