THOUSANDS of people flocked to Redhouse on Saturday to enjoy the first North Swindon Community Day.

With perfect weather, the inaugural event surpassed all the organisers’ expectations and left confidence high that next year’s event will be even bigger.

Taking place in Brook Park, the event’s overall aim was to bring the communities from North Swindon together, with people coming from Blunsdon to Oakhurst to enjoy the day.

There were a host of activities for people to take part in and dozens of local firms had stalls at the event.

For youngsters, the highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly the appearance of Anna and Elsa, the lead characters from the Disney film Frozen.

Those in attendance were also given the opportunity to throw wet sponges at local councillors and MP Justin Tomlinson.

Kate Harding, the secretary of the committee, which only formed in February, said she was only expecting 1,000 people to attend but in the end four times that amount came to enjoy the day.

Kate said: “I am over the moon with how everything turned out. The day was far bigger than any of us planned for.

“The weather was perfect, all the contributors turned up and everyone seems to be having a great time. It's great to see smiles on the faces of all the children, which is what we wanted to achieve.

“Our plan is to have a bigger event next year and the turnout proves there is demand.

“There is a real community spirit in North Swindon and I think this proves that.

“We have learned a lot from this experience so we are confident we can build on this.”

That was not the only event laying the foundations for something bigger as a fun day was also held at the John Moulton Hall in Penhill.

Organisers want to bring back the Penhill Carnival and say this event was to both gauge the level of demand as well as raise awareness of their ambitions.

With music provided by local musicians, the day saw locals running a range of groups.

Loopy Lewis, the secretary of the group looking to bring back the carnival, said: “Seeing so many people come along shows people want to see the carnival return.

“Penhill has a great community spirit and a lot of people are coming together to make this happen.

“We are in talks with the council to sort out the route and are arranging sponsorship.

“The carnival will be like previous ones but with a slight difference.”