THOUSANDS of sun-kissed spectators flocked to the West Bay showground to attend a record-breaking Melplash Show.

Organisers said the beautiful weather combined with the record number of competition entries and stall holders made it one of the best shows yet.

President of the Agricultural Society, Cleeves Palmer, described the standard of entries as ‘incredibly high’.

Mr Palmer said: “The whole day has been absolutely fantastic.

“The crowds have loved it, and the number of entries has increased by 20 per cent with the standard incredibly high.

“It is wonderful to see so many people from both the town and the country coming together to enjoy this special show. This supports my thinking that people are falling more in love with agriculture.”

Chairman of the Horticulture Society Peter Yates said there had been more than 600 entries in the horticultural section.

Mr Yates said: “The standard has been fantastic.

“We even had a couple from the West Midlands who came just for the day, which speaks volumes about the reputation of this show.”

Show secretary Lucy Hart paid tribute to the team of volunteers.

She said: “It has been a very long day after a very long month, and the volunteers deserve a lot of praise. Without them we wouldn’t have had a show, so a huge thank you to all of them.”

Livestock owner Caroline Bradbury took home four awards with her two Dexter cows, Puddlebridge and Primrose, finishing in first place in two classes, second in one and reserve champion in another.

She said: “The weather is great and we’ve won twice, so we’re delighted.”

The judges’ star of day was eight-year-old Percheron draft horse, Willingham Ella, owned by Malcolm and Lyn Scurrell, who won the classes for overall champion, best in class, and best turned out.

Along with the equestrian and show jumping events, spectators also got up close with other farmyard animals in the countryside arena and in the main arena crowds enjoyed a spectacular motorcyle stunt display by the Bolddog Lings FMX team.

The food hall also drew in hungry spectators with a raft of local delicacies and drinks.

Clive Sage of Wyld Meadow Farm, who was selling his locally produced beef and mutton, said: “This is a lovely country show, and the weather has really been kind this year.”