Martin Clunes appears at Weldmar Summer Fete in Dorchester

Back for its 23rd year, the annual event was held in the grounds of the Joseph Weld Hospice in Herringston Road.

Despite flying in from America just hours before the fete, the Doc Martin star and long-standing Weldmar supporter still managed to make an appearance.

Mr Clunes and wife, Philippa raise funds for Weldmar through Buckham Fayre and he said the Weldmar team were ‘part of the family’.

He said: “Every person who works for Weldmar tells me what a privilege it is to work here. To be able to support people when the worst thing in the world has happened to them - that takes a special kind of person. It’s just one of those charities which means so much to people - we are very happy to support it.”

After the fete, Mr Clunes spent time with patients and nurses at the hospice.

Matt Smith, director of fundraising and marketing for Weldmar said this year’s event had drawn record numbers of people with queues down Herringston Road during the morning.

“It’s incredible,” he said. “For many people this will be their first time coming back to the hospice after someone has died so it’s a really important event for us. But it’s great to see so many familiar faces - it’s a great event and we love doing it.”

This year’s event raised a total of £25,000.

Mr Smith added as the event was run by volunteers so every penny raised would go back into the hospice.

“We care for around two and a half thousand people, so events like this are vital to us,” he said.

This year’s event was sponsored by Mercedes Benz and saw new attractions including a bird of prey display from Xtreme Falconry, exotic animals courtesy of World Life, plus crockery smashing, coconut shy, stalls and tombolas.

Sally Vine, from Weymouth headed to the event with her mother, Marion Caulkett.

“My dad passed away here three years ago. We used to come to the fete with him and we wanted to come and support the charity,” she said. “It seems to be really growing - there’s a lot to see.”