The force was strong in Corsham on Saturday, as Darth Vader Dave Prowse joined thousands of fans for the annual Sci-Fi Fun Day.

The Bristolian actor played the iconic villain in the original film trilogy and was guest of honour at the event, which raised more than £4,700 for four local charities.

He said: “I do a lot of conventions, but this is more of a fair.

“I’m a West Country man myself, so it’s nice to do something back here.

“And it’s great to have people come up and say what Star Wars means to them, as, for me, it was completely life-changing.

“I couldn’t wish for a better life and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being here.”

More than 2,000 people arrived at The Corsham School for the event, including the local MoD contingent, which showed off its Skynet military satellite communication system, which is based in the town.

Farscape actress Virginia Hey and experienced Doctor Who monster actor Jon Davey were also there, to share stories and pose for pictures with costumed fans of the shows.

Mr Davey said: “It’s brilliant. I am really quite impressed with how good a lot of the costumes are and the amount of time people put into it.”

Rose Lawrence came from Swindon with her two Doctor Who-mad sons.

She said: “It’s really good. The kids have loved it.

“We are glad we found out about it and it’s a reasonable price as well. We’d definitely come back.”

Jacob Lawrence, ten, said: “I liked the Tardis at the front. I am the biggest Doctor Who fan and I liked meeting the Daleks. I told them I was the Doctor.”

This year, the group’s many motorised Daleks were joined by a new addition to their ranks, Mr Prowse’s original Green Cross Code robot, which helped him tell children how to cross the road in 1970s public information films. It has remained in his shed ever since.

The robot has stayed with the sci-fi group, with chairman Ady Davies hoping to repair it with modern-day technology. He said: “We are going to try to restore it and present it back to Dave, so it will be something he can treasure. It was such a brilliant day. It never fails to amaze me to see people come through the door and the big smiles on their faces.”