Mayor Vince Hunt paid tribute to the organisers of the show for putting on a popular event for the benefit of Oswestry and the surrounding area.

Cllr Hunt, who sits on the Oswestry and Shropshire councils, attended the event with the mayoress, his daughter Amber, and was kept busy judging and presenting awards.

“It’s the 11th successive year I’ve attended the show and I love it,” he said.

“The organisers mixed things around a bit this year. In the past things have always been in the same place so I’d been able to get around in a couple of hours, but this year they’d been moved around so I had to explore a little bit more.

“And while I was in different places I met people I hadn’t seen for a while – it all worked out very well.

“The show is a wonderful event. It attracts between 15,000 and 18,000 people every year and is a great Oswestry tradition. It’s tremendous for the town and brings a lot of people to the area.

“The High Sheriff is here and he is doing a lot of work regarding rural isolation. A lot of farmers attend the show every year, meet up with old friends and spend the day socialising – it plays a big part in solving a little of that isolation.

“Amber and I had a great day here – what’s not to like about the Oswestry Show?

“It is a fantastic event and has been going for years. In ages gone by, I dare say marriages were forged between people who met at this show.

“The committee does a great job putting everything together and the showground is a fantastic venue.

“A few years ago Shropshire Council spent £100,000 to refurbish some of the buildings – councillors appreciate how important this place is to Oswestry folks and the rural community.”