A BBC journalist, who lives locally has lambasted plans by the BBC to reschedule the running of the Oxford/Cambridge Boat Race from a Saturday lunch time, to a Sunday evening.

In the year that the race celebrates its 150th anniversary and the last year that the BBC will have the rights to broadcast the event, the source, who did not wish to be named, stated: "The idea that all life must serve the media and its schedules is far too pervasive. What a grim and ghastly celebration of 150 years of a unique event."

In his arguments against the rescheduling, he sites, that the traditional timing of the event meant it had always been seen as a family outing'. Because of the lunch time scheduling, most of the serious partying had been done and moved on by the early evening but now local residents face the disruption of crowds revelling into the late evening on a Sunday.

He added: "It was the only major sporting event in the London calendar that could be attended for free. Many poor people did just that, by public transport not at its best on Sundays."

However, Mike Smith, another Chiswick resident, who has lived by the river for the last seven years, was concerned that the boat race was not made enough of. He said: "It always strikes me that I'd like to see the boat race be made more of a gala event, with parades and floats. We should do something bigger and better with it."

He added: "It's not often that you have an international sporting event in your own back yard."