Eighty lorries – from veterans to some of the newest and most modern around – were the stars of the annual Crowfield Truck Rally.

East Anglian Daily Times: People enjoying the Crowfield Truck Rally at the Orwell Crossing.People enjoying the Crowfield Truck Rally at the Orwell Crossing.

Organisers of the event, held at the Orwell Crossing truck stop, alongside the A14 at Nacton, were thrilled at how the day went, raising more than £2,000 for a charity known affectionately as The Blood Runners.

East Anglian Daily Times: People enjoying the Crowfield Truck Rally at the Orwell Crossing.People enjoying the Crowfield Truck Rally at the Orwell Crossing.

The money will be presented to the Suffolk and Cambridge group of SERV, Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers, who transport blood, vaccines, blood products and other urgently needed medical items between hospitals.

Rally organiser Simon Waspe said: “It was an awesome day – it all just came together right and we surpassed our expectations.

“The weather was fantastic, the trucks were superb, lots of people came along, and we had so much going on.”

The oldest truck on show was a 1950 Bedford with the newest being the rare sight of a Volvo FH production test model and the latest DAF.

In between there were a range of makes and models capturing the style of haulage on the nation’s roads over the past half century.

There was also a bouncy castle, face painting and Punch and Judy for the children.

Mr Waspe said: “The trucks looked fantastic in the sunshine and the owners had worked very hard getting them ready. I was very proud.

“It’s lovely to be able to put the industry in a positive light, too, as lorry drivers often don’t get the best publicity and it has been very hard for them to survive through the downturn in the economy.”