Crowds throng to Tiddenfoot Waterside Park

Crowds thronged to Tiddenfoot Waterside Park, encouraged by the blue skies and tempted by all the family-friendly activites on offer.

Mum Laura Smith, of North Star Drive, said: “This is the second year we’ve been and it didn’t disappoint. A great family event, with plenty to see and do for all ages. And the sunshine was an added bonus!”

Laura was accompanied by son Oscar, two, and parents Nettie and Ian Kempsell who live at The Heath.

Town clerk Mark Saccoccio was delighted with the turn out – estimated at more than 6,000.

He said: “All in all it was a very good day.

“We’ve had tremendously positive feedback. This is unique to the area. Every year we provide different attractions on the same theme so there’s something for everybody.

“It’s specifically for local residents and we’ve had years and years of experience developing the model. “There’s a fine line between keeping it parish-based and taking it on to a different level.”

A first this year was the Fun Dog Show which attracted more than 50 entries. Another enormous success, according to Mark who added: “We’ll build on that next year, when we’ve had a chance to sit back and think about what went well and what we could change.”

Town and community promotions manager Gill Miller was also delighted with the many positive comments.

“Well worth all the hard work,” she smiled.