Crowds turn out to enjoy Hartlepool Show and Horticultural Festival

Families turned out in force to the event organised by Hartlepool Borough Council, which was held at the Rift House Recreation Ground today.

The event will also be held from 11am to 4pm tomorrow, Sunday, August 19.

The theme of the event was Go Wild - harking back to the Hartlepool Shows of years gone by, whilst adding a modern horticultural twist to the weekend.

It saw visitors enjoy a whole host of attractions, ranging from live music performances by youngsters, to fairground rides, BMX displays and outdoor theatre.

Spectators were also able to check out the award-winning flowers, fruit and vegetables, on display from across the North-East at the event’s Horticultural Festival.

More than 1,000 people came along to the first day of the event, with organisers hailing it as one of the best ones yet.

Horticultural Show secretary is Tom Hammond was delighted with the success of the show, saying that this year attracted 774 entries.

Mr Hammond, who has been involved in the show for 20 years, said: “The event has been going since 1869 and this year has been one of the most successful shows that we have ever had.

“We have had 45 displays and 774 entries, so we are absolutely delighted with how it has gone.

“We are delighted with the number of entries - there were much more than we thought we were going to get with the bad weather.”

Eye-catching flowers on display in the show included Dahlias, Gladioli and Fuschias.

While a range of impressive fruit and vegetables were also display including leeks, runner beans and onions.

William Bonas, from Newcastle won Overall Best In Show with his Chrysanthemums.

Also on offer were adult and children’s cooking classes, with Martin Jacobs from Hartlepool winning the adults section and Kyrian Bradley from Penrith winning the children’s section.