CHILDREN from across the region showed off their rugby skills as part of a festival dedicated to the oval ball.

CHILDREN from across the region showed off their rugby skills as part of a festival dedicated to the oval ball.

The event, which drew in hundreds of players and thousands of parents yesterday, marked the first ever festival of mini rugby held by Bury St Edmunds Rugby Union Football Club (RUFC).

Teams from Cambridge, Ipswich, Newmarket, Bury, Sudbury and Shelford were among those competing for top honours in the under-sevens to under-12 categories at the Haberden ground.

Jane Storey, vice president of Bury St Edmunds RUFC, said she could not believe how many people had turned up for the event.

“It's incredible,” she said. “It is fantastic for the rugby club, it is amazing and they have put an awful lot of effort into the whole thing.

“Rugby is very dear to my heart. My husband was a rugby player and so was my father.

“This event is all about getting out and enjoying a bit of fresh air, some sport and some fun and about supporting children in their efforts. It has been a fantastic day out.”

The event was supported by Suffolk County Council and NHS Suffolk, which jointly staged their Health on the Move marquee where adults could get a quick health check on their cholesterol levels and advice on living more healthily.

Mrs Storey, who is also deputy leader of the county council, said: “The county council always supports healthy living and what they have set up here is absolutely amazing and I am just so proud to be part of it.”