MORE than 10,000 visitors have flocked to a festival celebrating agricultural vehicles.

The tenth annual Tractor Fest, which was held at Newby Hall, near Ripon, attracted record crowds over the two days, and featured March of the Tractors, where more than 150 tractors motored from the historic home to Ripon’s Market Place, where shops, cafes and restaurants stayed open to mark the occasion.

The tractors were sent on their way back to Newby Hall by the Ripon Hornblower at 7pm.

The event, run by Yorkshire Vintage Association (YVA), featured more than 1,500 exhibits, including tractors, engines and vintage vehicles, many of them vintage steel-wheeled engines dating from the earliest days of farm mechanisation.

There was also a record-breaking gathering of the Massey Ferguson tractors, with more than 1,000 in attendance.

Richard Sturdy, YVA chairman, said: “This year was the best ever Tractor Fest - with such a huge turnout it is surely now Europe’s leading vintage show for enthusiasts and families alike.

"Now it is on with planning for next year’s show and we already know the theme is Made in Yorkshire.”