RECORD crowds turned out for this year’s Party in the Park in Melksham and organisers hailed the event the most successful to date.

Nearly 8,000 people walked through the gates at King George V Park on Saturday with performances and activities running throughout the day.

The line-up this year included top tribute acts such as Only One Direction, Rob B Williams and former X-Factor contestant Zoe Alexander who performed as Pink.

Party in the Park organiser Bruce Burry said he was delighted to see so many come to the much-loved event.

He added: “As always, it takes a lot of organisation throughout the year and for the last two weeks before the event, it really is all hands on deck.

“There are a lot of preparations under way at the park itself, but it all came together come Saturday.

“Each year we try to give local acts a bigger platform and a bigger stage to perform on so they can get their name out there and show off what they can do.

“All the acts went down so well with everyone.

“The crowds loved it and it made my day to see people turn out for the event.

“For me, the highlight was Zoe Alexander and Rob B Williams. They were so good and they were something different to what we normally do.

“It’s hard to try and make the event fresh every year, but I hope we did it.”

Visitors were also treated to a quad and motorcycle stunt act by Jason Smyth in the arena followed by a fireworks display.

Mr Burry added: “It does seem to be getting bigger every year and obviously that means more work but at least it shows how popular the event is in Melksham.”

This year onlookers enjoyed a range of musical styles, including The Decibelles, Ukelele Light Orchestra, Purple Fish, and local acts Courtney Buchanan, Heather Kerr and Hangar 18.

Tom Sangster, chair of the Party in the Park team, added: “When you think of the demographic of Melksham, we had a respectable turnout of people from the town and some travelled even further from Chippenham and Trowbridge.

“The event has become well-established over recent years and we always receive great feedback on social media so I hope it continues long into the future.”