MORE than 450 people attended the annual Westwood Flower and Vegetable Show in blazing hot sunshine on Bank Holiday Monday.

Local Wiltshire councillor Johnny Kidney presented the prizes and trophies at the show, held in the Westwood Manor Tithe Barn and two marquees in a nearby field.

Flower & Vegetable Show Committee chair, John Streeter, said they were “very pleased” with the turnout for this year’s show.

“Initial figures show that we had about 450-plus people through the gates and it went very well.”

Organisers were particularly delighted with the weather, which turned out temperatures of up to 27C on the day and long periods of sunshine.

This made the perfect setting for the Bath Spa Band, which played on the lawn outside the Westwood Parish Room, which opened to serve coffee, teas, refreshments and home-made cakes.

St Mary the Virgin Church had been specially decorated with floral arrangements for the event from 2.30pm to 4.30pm.

Mr Streeter said that this year the organising committee had bought two marquees for a cost of £1,500 in which to locate the show.

“Over the course of two years, they will pay for themselves,” he said. “So we believe it’s a good investment.”

Inside the marquees, visitors browsed the arts, crafts, and photography on display, as well as the children’s exhibits.

In the Tithe Barn next to Westwood Manor, there was a display of fruit and vegetables, with prizes being presented to the owners of the winning entries.

This year, around 70 villagers had submitted multiple entries, but the total number of entries was down on the previous year.

John Philpott, landlord of the New Inn at Westwood, had returned from a holiday in Alaska to judge the cooking and bakery classes.

Mr Streeter says the show has raised around £2,500, which will be put towards the cost of buying the two new marquees.