FAMILIES enjoyed a day of activities in glorious sunshine at Taunton's Hamilton Park on Saturday - despite a technical hitch which meant they missed out on some of the stalls and attractions.

A refreshment trailer came loose from the vehicle towing it as it arrived at the park, and blocked the entrance for around an hour and a half.

Fiona Phur, secretary of The Friends of Hamilton Gault Park, said: “Something happened with the suspension and the whole thing hit the floor.

“It took an hour and a half for the breakdown people to move it and we know at least one of our rides couldn't get in. We don't know how many stallholders decided to call it off.

“We also didn't have a refreshment stand as a result.”

Despite the setback, the event was still extremely popular, said Fiona, with children and adults enjoying the large number of attractions - almost all of which were free - that had already made it onto the park.

They included a petting zoo, a tombola, circus skills equipment, and a host of games and kit for children from the Community Games scheme - a legacy of the London Olympics which allows communities to hire out equipment for community events.

Fiona said: “We had a great crowd because we had fantastic weather.

“Not one visitor said 'why are there not more stands?'

“We also had some live music which went down very well.

“We have decided that for future events we are going to be a bit more proactive in looking for a band, as we had a lot of people just sitting around enjoying the music.”