The diamond of a west Suffolk town was honoured on Saturday in a family fun day celebrating its fire station’s 60th birthday.

The sun beamed down on Clare Country Park for the action-packed event marking six decades since Clare’s purpose-built fire station was opened.

Past and present firefighters who served the station all returned for the day, while Suffolk’s chief fire officer Mark Hardingham presented a plaque marking the occasion.

The station’s current crew showed off their skills in a live demonstration of how they would react to a car crash, with help from their colleagues in the police and ambulance service.

The diamond jubilee also featured a miniature railway and vintage fire vehicles, as well as tips on home safety such as how to deal with a roaring chip pan fire.

All proceeds from the day went to two charities as chosen by the town’s on-call firefighters – The Fire Fighters Charity and The Clare Christmas Lights fund.

Clare has had a fire brigade since 1739, with the crew working out of far more modest surroundings such as a barn and local garages until the current station was opened in 1954.