GREAT Yorkshire Show director Bill Cowling said he was delighted with the success of this year's three-day event.

The extra £100,000 spent on wet weather contingency plans, mainly in the car parks and trade stand areas, proved to have been well-spent.

Mr Cowling said: "This is the 149th show and if there has ever been a wetter build-up, I would be surprised. The rainfall in this part of the North of England has been at record level."

Although the weather caused several other shows to cancel -and the Royal Show to close a day early -the £1.5m annual cost of staging the Great Yorkshire ruled out any such thoughts.

Mr Cowling said: "We put temporary tracks down on the showground to get the stands on to avoid the ground being cut up, and woodchip tracks in the car parks. We also have 14 tractors and quad bikes on stand-by in case they are needed to tow vehicles out."

The first two days enjoyed sunshine and although yesterday started wet, it was better later.

Mr Cowling said: "We are delighted with the first two days and have obviously been very lucky with the weather, but it is still very gratifying to receive such good support from the public and farming community."

Although attendance figures will not be known until later, the showground was buzzing, particularly on the second day.

Mr Cowling praised staff who had worked hard to make the event a success and particularly thanked exhibitors who provided a quality line-up.

The delicate state of the ground was obvious in the beef ring where the magnificent, but heavy, animals had churned up areas, while the lighter dairy cattle barely left an impression.