HUNDREDS of people gathered in Oswestry town centre on Saturday for an inaugural charity truck pull and family fun day.  Crowds lined the pavements of Church Street to cheer on teams from local clubs, businesses and organisations as they competed to pull an 11.5 tonne truck along a stretch of the road in the quickest time. A team from Oswestry Eagles Rugby Club recorded the fastest time in the competition, with many participants on the day donning fancy dress for the occasion. As well as the main event, the town played host to a family fun day comprised of stalls, musical performances and a community market. The event raised hundreds of pounds for Hope House children’s hospice and drew approximately 700 people to the town centre, providing a welcome boost to local retailers and shop owners. Event organisers were delighted with the strong show of public support for the day and promised that next year’s event would be an even greater success.Managing Director of the British Ironwork Centre, Clive Knowles said: “It really was a fantastic occasion and I’m thrilled that the day went so well.  “A lot of meticulous planning from ourselves and all of the other organisers went into the event and I’m so relieved that the day was such a success.“I visited many of the local shops who told me that trade had been very brisk on the day and that takings were way up compared to a normal Saturday.”

Mr Knowles confirmed that plans would soon be underway to organise the event in 2015, which he promised would be ‘bigger and better’.