FAMILIES had the chance to have a bit of fun – without stretching the purse strings – at an event organised by Cinderford Town Council.

The family fun day at Steam Mills Recreation Ground on Saturday (April 9) brought together many attractions and stalls run by local groups and individuals.

There was even the opportunity to become the new Cinderford town crier with an open competition in the afternoon.

The town council’s project manager Les Love, who organised the event, said: “We wanted to do something to bring people together after what has been a tough few years.

“We’ve had a brilliant response from local groups who have set up their stalls and the sun has been shining.”

There was disapppointment when the planned funfair had to pull out at the last moment but a quick ring-around soon had other atttrations to take its place

Among those running stalls were local Scouts, Guides, St Stephen’s Church and Forest Pulse, which supports children with special needs and their families.

Local artist Ian Guy brought along some of his painting, including some that contained optical illusions.

There were also a large number of vintage vehicles which were getting an early outing ahead of the return of the Forest Vintage Vehicle and Machinery Club’s show at the Speech House in September.

One of the most popular stands was the ScienceXperience run by BASF in Cinderford to encourage an interest in the sciences among children

There were experiments to try such as making giant bubbles and a ‘treasure hunt’ in a bucket of sand which replicated what the Cinderford plant does in finding and recycling rare, precious metals from catalytic converters for recycling.

Local police officers were also at the event to chat to families and show their car to the children.

One of the highlights of the day was the hunt for a new town crier for Cinderford.

One of the first jobs will be to make announcements at the celebrations in the town for the platinum jublilee celebrations for Her Majesty the Queen.

The winner was Jer Holland who promised to be a crier “for everyone”.

He said: “We have so many different people in Cinderford, I’ll have to learn a few other languages such as Romanian, Chinese and Welsh.”