HUGE numbers have attended an Autumn fayre despite The Met Office warning of heavy rain. 

Warnings of bad weather did not put off hundreds of people who attended the St Stephens Autumn Fayre which is organised along with Sticky Fingers Pre-school. 

The decade-old event had pony rides, live music, games, a BBQ and much more. 

New this year was a "community stand" handing out questionnaires aimed at helping the church better improve its community engagement. 

Organisers: Lindsey Coulthard and Claire ThomasOrganisers: Lindsey Coulthard and Claire Thomas (Image: Newsquest)

Lindsey Coulthard, Reverend at St Stephens Church said: "There is so much for everyone and it's great to give everyone an opportunity to get together. 

"This is my third fayre and everything is going great. 

"This year we also have a community engagement stand. 

"We want people to tell us how we can better serve our community. 

"This is part of a much bigger project to improve our community engagement, we want everyone no matter who you are to use our space for the community."

(Image: Newsquest)

The fayre lasted for four hours and the most popular activity for children seemed to be the bouncy castle, although pony rides and Hoopla were a close second. 

Claire Thomas, Sticky Fingers nursery manager, said: "It's lovely to see the same faces year after year and see a new generation of children visit. 

"We have been doing this jointly for over a decade now and although we only opened 30 minutes ago I have already said hello to a lot of old families which is great to see. 

"We added the weather to the agenda last minute so that seems to have worked, last year we had a large footfall but we will just have to see how today goes.

"It's really nice to look around and see so many people enjoying themselves, the whole community really pulled together for this one."

(Image: Newsquest)

The fayre was held today (September 21) at St Stephens Church between 1am and 3pm. 

Braidie Newell and Arthur Braidie Newell and Arthur (Image: Newsquest)

Braidie Newell who attended the fayre with her son Arthur, said: "It's my little boy's nursery so we thought we would pop down and he has gotten to see lots of his friends. 

"We are waiting for some friends who are running late but Arthur has so far loved the swings."

Adam Morgan and ArchieAdam Morgan and Archie (Image: Newsquest)

Adam Morgan who attended the fayre with his son Archie, said: "I just thought I would take Archie here to see what was happening. 

"We have been here for around 20 minutes, he has had a go on Hoopla, won a toy and is pretty happy. 

"I'm a teacher and would have come regardless of the weather, if there was a thunderstorm we still would have turned up but I'm glad the weather is better."