Foodies and fun lovers dashed for cover as thunderstorm rumbled over Shrewsbury Food Festival

The storm that passed over the county town on Sunday afternoon sent foodies and fun lovers dashing for cover and flooded one of the entrances but thankfully the heavy rain and lightning only lasted about half an hour.

Minutes later it was hard to tell that anything had happened as the milling crowd gathered again on the hillside to lap up the sun and listen to music.

Beth Heath, from organisers Shropshire Festivals, said: "We all rushed under cover and were busy holding things down, it was quite a storm.

"The martial arts experts kept on going and there were a lot of damp people. It was fun.

"We were flooded by one of the exits so we moved the exit!"

It's too early to say how many people turned out over the two days but Beth puts it at thousands, including more than 10,000 people attended on the day.

They weren't deterred by a day of travel disruption as trains were cancelled between Wellington and Shrewsbury due to signalling staff being taken ill.

Beth said: "It was a pain in the neck, we had a train strike last year. People travelling from West Midlands who had to get replacement buses."

Beth greeted Saturday as an "an absolute smasher of a day" and "everything's worked really well."

"We have a whole taste-not-waste thing going on, cooking demonstrations to help people with the cost-of-living, explaining all about best before dates and how to get the best out of your food.

"The homes and gardens area is bigger than ever, we have shed loads of kids stuff which has gone down really well."

Beth added that donations totalling thousands of pounds will be given to charities including Lingen Davies and the Harry Johnson Trust. Dogs Trust, Self Help Africa and Shrewsbury Food Hub are also set to benefit from the days.

Foodies and families can also put the dates for next year's two day extravaganza in their diaries. Next year Shrewsbury Food Festival will be held on June 29 and 30, 2024.