YOUNG and old alike had a wild, if wet, time at the Hawkshaw Gala.

For the first time, organisers allocated a theme to the annual three-day extravaganza - the wild west.

Re-enactment society Lone Star staged a gunfight on the village green and a hoedown band introduced villagers to US line dancing. A wild west fancy dress competition was popular with youngsters.

But wellies rather than spurs were the order of the day. The recreation ground behind St Mary's school, Bolton Road, looked more like Glastonbury then Nevada due to the regular downpours.

The wet weather meant that a bouncy castle and some of the children's rides could not be set up as planned, but gala-goers did not let that spoil the fun.

Chris Caldwell, chairman of the Hawkshaw Gala Trust, said: "Attendance was very good considering the conditions. The fancy dress competition was the most popular we've had, with more entries than ever.

"Everyone did their best to ignore the mud and rain and enjoy the weekend. The theme seemed to be very popular so we'll be trying to decide on another theme for next year's event."

Winner of the weekend's fell race was Martin Lee (42). Emma Spence (13) won the junior race.