FRIENDS and families enjoyed food, drinks and music at this year’s Swindon Summer Bowl.

The event was created by former circus performer Tom Falding after festivals in town were cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The opening night was on Friday, followed by a pizza party on Saturday and a Vegan Sunday Soiree.

Jemma Knott, 33, from Barbury Park went with her friends and sister.

She said: “This is a fantastic idea. Events have been cancelled, so they’ve done a good job.

"It’s accessible for everyone. The staff were nice and it was well organised.

“We missed coming together. It would have been my sister’s hen do. It got cancelled, so we came here instead to give her a bit of a good night out.”

Daisy Lyons 21, from Old Town said that following safety measures makes people feel more comfortable.

She said: "People are a bit nervous to go out, so it’s nice they’ve put all the safety measures in place.”

Daisy, who went with her eight-month-old daughter, added: “We enjoyed it. It was a nice atmosphere and it was a nice event to bring kids to.”

Michael Fergie, 31, from West Swindon said: “I was blown away. They created a lovely space.

"There was great music, a bar, and delicious food.

"Even though we were socially distanced, it was nice to come and spend an evening socialising with friends.

“It's exactly what not only Swindon, but everywhere needs. It felt like life was going back to normal.”

Fandangos is the entertainment company behind the fun in Town Gardens.

Owner Tom said: “We’ve been working to organise an event for about two months.

“It kind of materialised into this plan about six weeks ago or so.

“I’m so pleased and overwhelmed by the result. It’s incredible to see people using the space, to see it colourful, full of smiley and happy people having a good time.”

To make social distancing possible at the venue, each bubble was given a designated place to sit.

Hand sanitiser stations and a one-way system were put in place.

Tom added: “The feedback was fantastic.

"Everyone had a fantastic night, there was great entertainment.

“For the launch we had about 100 people in, and on Saturday we had similar numbers. I didn’t have a clue how it was going to be received

“There’s nothing else going on, people are able to do something instead of nothing. People are desperate to go out, so we wanted to give it to them.”