SUNSHINE and smiles were to be had aplenty in Newton Abbot at the weekend when hundreds of families enjoyed a free two-day Party in the Park.

The event, co-hosted by Newton Abbot Town Council and Rotary Newton Abbot, was staged in Courtenay Park.

Live music, children’s entertainment, charity stalls and some downright silly fun and games were to be had along with trade stands, household advice, a youth zone, food and drink.

The only omission from the billed programme was a fun dog show which the organisers pulled owing to animal welfare concerns as temperatures soared.

Mayor Cllr Colin Parker was thrilled with the party’s success.

He said: ‘This is a fantastic community celebration and Newton Abbot Town Council is proud and honoured to be working with Rotary Newton Abbot on delivering Party in the Park.

‘Times are tough for many families at the moment so having a full weekend of affordable fun right here on the doorstep is invaluable.

‘You’ve only got to look around at all the smiling faces to know how much it’s appreciated so I truly hope this is something we’ll see again and again, year after year.

‘I am pleased with the collaboration of the town council and Rotary and hope it can continue and be expanded.’

Paignton teenager Ethan Cattran and dad Matt came into town specifically for the party, during which Ethan battled it out in a game of Bodyzorb.

The challenge involved participants donning giant inflatable suits and running at each other full tilt

‘You have to have a really strong core because if you don’t then you’re just going to flop back, it was great fun,’ said Ethan.

Dad Matt added: ‘Having a free fun day like this is good, really good.’

Jane Camp, of Rotary Newton Abbot, said: ‘The whole ideas of us getting involved was that the carnival committee had gone and there seemed to a lack of a big summer community event.

‘The Youth Zone was new this year and next year we want to fill it even further with more activities.

‘Another of our things is environment so we have Action on Climate Teignbridge here and we had more stall holders want to come than we could accommodate so again, we’ll look next year at where we could have them.

‘It’s been really nice hearing some positive comments from people.

‘We’re also looking at working with Newton Abbot Town Council to see if we can stage the dog show at one of their events later in the year when the temperatures have dropped a bit so we’re looking forward to that.’