SCI-FI fanatics turned out in force on Saturday with record numbers turning up to the Sci-Fi Southwest convention in Trowbridge.

From Doctor Who to Star Wars, Planet of the Apes to Pirates of the Caribbean, over 1,000 people visited the Civic Centre to get up-close to some of their favourite characters and cast members.

Featuring guest talks from John Levene, Sgt Benton in Doctor Who, Sophie Aldred, who played the Doctor's companion Ace and Farscape actress Virginia Hey, fans were also treated to a photo opportunity with a DeLorean car – a replica of the iconic vehicle from Back to the Future.

Owner Luke Palmer, 22 of Chippenham said despite using his car daily, he still gets overwhelmed by the reaction from people.

“This year I finally got hold of a DeLorean and now I am going around the country with it to raise money for Parkinson’s UK,” he added.

“My grandfather suffered with it for many years and I understand how difficult it is to live with and that is why I hope to raise money for them to find a cure.

“The reaction to the car on Saturday was fantastic and it is the first time it has gone out.

“By having the car as my day-to-day car, I have got used to people staring at me and I’ve had a few instances where people have taken photos of it.”

Other attractions included a baby T-Rex, the tomb of the Cybermen along with the Doctor Who Tardis, costume displays and props from TV shows.

Trowbridge Town Council’s direct services supervisor Carl Maddox said special thanks should be paid to Mark Dando and Tom Huang from Basestar Events who helped organise the event. 

He added: “It was bigger and better this time and we had more people though the door.

“There was bigger displays and better things outside and all in all we tried to build on the success of last year which I think we achieved.

“With the first year, we wanted to play it safe and we didn’t know how the convention would go down with people but this year, we’ve took a few risks to make it better for people coming along.

“It is actually really nice to see the buzz in the community about it. We are looking forward to putting the convention on next year which is already in plans but everything is top secret.”