EXOTIC animals and bushtucker trials kept children entertained at St John’s Catholic Primary School’s Go Wild experience on Saturday, as families turned out in force for the inaugural event.

Organised by The Friends of St John’s and sponsored by Woodland Adventures, it invited people of all ages to get up close with a range of different animals, including horses, chickens, reptiles, giant bugs and birds of prey.

Although some activities had to be cancelled because of the torrential storms, there was still plenty for visitors to do, with face painting, a summer draw and fun games among the activities on offer.

One of the most popular activities was the bush tucker trials, which tasked challengers with eating witchetty grubs and crickets. The event managed to take over £3,600 on the day.

Pauline Evans, co-chairman of the Friends, said: “We were affected by the weather when we were setting up and we had to move a lot of things indoors, but there was a wet weather plan in place.

“Some people struggled to get to the school on the day, so we had less people than we were expecting, but everyone who did come really enjoyed it and we still had all of the different animals.

“The bush tucker trials were really popular and lots of people said that we should hold it again next year, when we will hopefully have better luck with the weather.

“It’s quite different to anything we have done before, but the children loved it and had lots of fun.

“I would like to thank all the Friends, teachers, parents and children for helping to make it such a great event.”