Crowds arrive for Shrewsbury Folk Festival

More than 5,000 music fans were descending on Shrewsbury this afternoon to enjoy the town's annual four-day folk festival.

Huge numbers of fun-seekers from around the UK arrived at the County Showground throughout the day in time to see the curtain rise on the weekend's live action at 5.30pm.

Organisers of the event have tipped it to be the biggest and best in the festival's history, with a number of exciting new additions in prospect for revellers.

The Shrewsbury Folk Festival has been described as 'the best in the UK' by one of its headline acts, Show of Hands, who are more used to headlining venues like the Royal Albert Hall and the Cambridge Folk Festival.

Steve Knightly, from Show of Hands, said he was looking forward to his band's show tomorrow and added: "If you talk to the performers, they'll all tell you that Shrewsbury has become the number one in the UK."

Tickets for this year's event sold out in record time, with organisers dispatching the last passes weeks ago.

However, fans who were unable to get in on the action will be able to see performers via a free internet link.

Jo Cunningham, spokeswoman for the event, said: "We featured an internet broadcast last year and it was immensely successful with viewers from around the world.

"We have people logging on from all corners of the globe and we're hoping for the same again. People can watch it at www.shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk"0