THOUSANDS of people turned out to enjoy Sutton Fun Day on Sunday.

"It was absolutely brilliant," said organiser Christine Young, of Sutton Village Committee. "The crowds came out in droves. I would say it attracted over 4,000 people, maybe 5,000.

"Every square inch of the park was full of people," she said. "I do believe it was the best year ever 'money wise'. I would be shocked if we don't break our takings record."

Although the event did not have a procession, huge crowds of people still packed into Sutton Park to enjoy a variety of entertainment.

"It didn't matter that there wasn't a procession," said Christine. "It didn't impact the day.

"I'm glad we did it this way because to put a procession costs around £2,000 and requires a lot of volunteers."

She said not having a procession meant people came along to the park earlier to take advantage of what was on offer in the 41 stalls.

The two large catering marquees were full of people, Magic Matt kept children and adults entertained with magic shows and Christine said that GR Tucker & Son funfair offered some delightful fairground rides.

Another popular attraction was the dog show, which had 70 entrants this year, an increase of about 25 from a year ago.

Cold drinks were at a premium in the sweltering heat and more had to be brought in; and Christine said busy volunteers were "melting" nearly as fast as the goodies on offer in the chocolate tombola.

"We need more people to volunteer for the set up," said Christine. "We had a handful of people who came forward this year and they worked from 8am to 9pm. It's too much."

She said visitors were generous and very complimentary with their comments about the fun day.

"People who showed their support were absolutely amazing," said Christine. "Thank you to all of the volunteers, the people who donated money in the buckets and to all of the lovely stallholders who took part.

"The day was enjoyed by everybody and I'm absolutely ecstatic about it," she added. "We've already have some new ideas for next year."