ORGANISERS of the New Forest and Hampshire County Show are hailing the "fantastic success" of this year's event.

Tens of thousands of people from across the south flocked to the huge showground at New Park, Brockenhurst, for three days of family entertainment.

The show got off to a wet and windy start but the weather improved over the following two days.

Organisers are still totting up the attendance figures but they are known to be higher than those seen last year, when 72,000 people poured on to the site.

One of this year's main attractions was the Heavy Horse Musical Drive, which involved 16 pairs of horses criss-crossing the arena.

Celebrity visitors included Jane Devonshire, winner of the 2016 MasterChef series, and actor John Challis, who played car dealer Boycie in Only Fools and Horses.

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This year's show president, Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, is a fan of the series and chatted to John during his tour of the showground.

Chief executive Denis Dooley said: "The show was a fantastic success and thanks go to all involved in the organisation of the event, especially our 400 volunteers.

"We have received great feedback from our visitors who enjoyed the variety of interactive and educational activities around the site.

"The competitions were of the highest standard and I must congratulate the winners of every class.

"Our president, Lord Montagu, enjoyed his special year and awarded the President's Cup (presented to his favourite section) to the vegetable section, which hosted the prestigious NVS national show.

"I was pleased to hear our traders enjoyed a great show, with on-site spending significantly up on last year.

"Plans for 2020 have already begun with lots of ideas on how we can build upon the interactive and educational areas of the show and improve our visitors' day out."