THE Rotary Club of Ilkley Wharfedale has welcomed three new members taking the total number of new members since the start of the year to an unprecedented five.

A spokesperson said: "As a Rotary Club, Ilkley Wharfedale has a reputation for being a ‘friendly’ and ‘relaxed’ club. This means you can generally dress as you want, you don’t need to go through embarrassing rituals and you can be part of interesting and fun events like the Great Ilkley Duck Race and above all, whilst enjoying yourself, you can raise money for charities whether they be local, national, international or the Rotary endeavour to eliminate Polio which is threatening to raise its head again after virtually being extinguished worldwide. The club is still relatively small in Rotary terms (28 members of which eight are lady members) but ‘small’ means we can take fast and effective decisions currently under the leadership of the club’s joint presidents, Jo Jarvis and Peter Mate."