THOUSANDS of people visited Durham County Show at the weekend, which provided a variety of activities.

Crowds at the Herrington County Park, at Penshaw, near Sunderland, were expected to exceed the 60,000 which attended last year.

Organisers had hoped to see the return of livestock categories after an enforced absence through foot-and-mouth disease. But they had to cancel at the 11th hour because of the lack of entries.

Show secretary Christine Duke said: "It has been an outstanding weekend. We had the weather and we had the crowds.

"Unfortunately, we had to cancel the livestock categories again because we never got any entries.

"There are still certain Defra regulations in force and a lot of the potential competitors would have been at the Great Yorkshire Show all week. We will try again next year."

The main attraction was the Devil's Horsemen jousting team which thrilled the crowds with its daring skills.

Outside the showground, visitors were able to enjoy a display by the Morris 1000 Owners' Club, while six model boat regattas were held on the lake.

Among the appearances on the lake was a 1/6th scale model of Donald Campbell's famous Bluebird.

The 1,500 capacity amphitheatre - the largest outdoor venue in the region - again hosted two days of music by young people, to compliment the sound of brass at the bandstand in the showground.

More than 27,000 free tickets had been sent to junior and infant schools throughout Sunderland in the hope that children would bring their parents.

More than 1,000 dogs were entered in show categories, while the flower show included a carnation section which will be expanded to include other flowers next year.

Mrs Duke said the show had double the number of trade stands this year, with inquiries already being made for space for the next year.

The show was established in 1841 and more than 100 have been held.

In 1999, organisers were told they had to move from their traditional home at Lambton Park and in 2000 the show was held on the Northern Area Playing Fields, in Washington.

In 2001, the show was cancelled due to foot-and-mouth disease and it moved to its new home last year.