ONE of the region's biggest horticultural events was yesterday hailed a success by organisers.

More than 30,000 people visited Gateshead Spring Flower Show, held on Tyneside over the Easter weekend.

Councillor John McElroy, of Gateshead Council, said: "It is fantastic that this show is so well supported by the people of Gateshead and by the many people who travelled from throughout the region and the UK."

Heavy rainfall in the days leading up to the event meant the playing field earmarked as the main car park could not take vehicles, causing parking problems around the venue at the Central Nursery, in Whickham Highway, Lobley Hill.

A council spokeswoman said: "We felt that if we closed the field on the Saturday, we would be able to use it as a car park for the last two days of the show, and this proved to be the case.

"We operated a park-and-ride system from the MetroCentre anyway, so on Saturday we just increased the number of buses to help out.

"Despite the start, the show has been a success and we were especially pleased about how many people from outside Gateshead travelled to see it."

One of the show's highlights was the unveiling of two new varieties of daffodils bred in the North-East, named Baltic, after the region's flagship arts centre, and Gateshead Millennium Bridge.