THIS year's Bridgwater Flower Show enjoyed the second highest amount of entries since 2000.

A total of 579 entries, flows of visitors and a range of new initiatives made this year's two-day event a phenomenal success.

Visitors to the annual show at Bridgwater Town Hall last weekend enjoyed sections including flowers, vegetables, photography and children's classes.

Show secretary Jackie Sealey said: "This year's show was a superb success. The flowers were colourful, the vegetable section boasted big entries and the photography section was again the most popular section.

"Children's entries could have been higher but we are working on attracting more young entries next year. We thank everyone who entered, visited and hope next year's show is as good – if not better."

There were several initiatives to bring the century-old show into the 21st century, including a new photography class.

The class, Seasons, asked for four prints depicting each of the four divisions of the year and could be presented on card or paper up to A4 size.

The winner received a £10 voucher from Tim's Cameras & Studio in Bridgwater's High Street.

Mrs Sealey said: "We wanted to embrace digital photography with this special class and it's great to work with Tim's Cameras to encourage this lovely hobby. The photography section brings in people who are not necessarily into gardening but they can still be a part of our historic show."

Many of the exhibits were displayed on state-of-the-art tiered staging thanks a Somerset Community Foundation grant.

The new lightweight uPVC design was the brainchild of society treasurer Michael Sealey, after the cash came from the foundation's Grass Roots scheme.

All children were entered into a draw with the winning name receiving the prize.

All entrants also received a free packet of seeds thanks to www.packetseeds.com.