Shrewsbury steam rally breaks records

Organisers of Shrewsbury's annual steam rally are celebrating record first day visitor numbers after thousands turned out to mark the event's 50th anniversary.

More than 10,000 people are believed to have attended the rally run by the County of Salop Steam Engine Society at Onslow Park yesterday, with similar numbers expected to attend the final day today.

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And the boom in interest from people of all ages has been put down to programmes such as the BBC's Victorian Farm, inspiring people to get outdoors and catch a glimpse of life in years gone by.

About 100 steam engines are on – more than double the usual 40 to 50 exhibits. They include six engines shown at the first steam rally in 1961, and in total there are more than 1,000 exhibits including motorcycles and fairground organs.

Society chairman John Onions said there had also been an increase in the number of young people attending on day one.

He said: "We haven't had a proper count yet but judging by the number of cars we had a record number of visitors on the first day. In previous years this may have been seen as an older person's event but there have been a lot more young people here.

"I think it is down to programmes like Victorian Farm on television which are encouraging people to get outdoors."

Collections are being held over the weekend for Severn Hospice, and a 50th anniversary cake was due to be auctioned off for the charity last night.