THERE will be a show of muscle at this year’s Weymouth Carnival as strongmen line up for a backbreaking challenge.

Organisers are ditching the beach tug-of-war contest because they feel it has become ‘too easy and boring’ for the pub teams which take part.

Musclemen will instead be invited to show their strength by teaming up to pull a 15-tonne coach along the Esplanade.

The Coach Pull Challenge is the idea of three bodybuilding enthusiasts – hotelier Chris Reay, his son Chris who is known as CJ, and Dan Milverton who runs Future Physiques Gym.

The trio will take it in turns to pull a coach on their own for 40 metres and see who gets the quickest time.

Teams of six will then line up to try and beat the time.

It’s just one of the events at next Wednesday’s carnival designed to help raise as much money as possible for local charities.

It takes place at 5.30pm on the seafront opposite Marks & Spencer – the same time as the Waiter and Waitress Trolley Race, another new event for 2010.

Chris Reay, co-owner of the Channel guesthouse on the Esplanade, explained how he, his son and Mr Milverton had been training for the event with a coach in Lodmoor Country Park for about five months.

They are indebted to Bluebird Coaches, which has supplied the vehicle. The coach, which weighs a total of 15,120kg, will be the one used on the day.

The trio want to compete in strongman competitions and are trying to build up interest locally in the sport among enthusiasts.

They want to use the carnival to showcase strongman events as well as to raise money for good causes.

Mr Reay said: “We can’t wait for the day.

“It’s a huge coach but we’re getting to the time we want to achieve in training and hopefully we will achieve it on carnival day.

“It will be great to see pub teams come forward and see whether they can beat us.”

Rotary carnival chairman Robert Sedgbeer said: “We’re delighted to be bringing back the Waiter and Waitress Trolley Race this year.

“Also, to bring in something totally new and unique for this year we have the Coach Pull Challenge.

“They are going to add so much fun and make carnival day even more of a spectacle.”

If you would like to enter the Coach Pull Challenge or the Waiter and Waitress Trolley Race visit the carnival website for an entry form: www.weymouthcarnival.co.uk