More than 100 voluntary groups, clubs and organisations have come together to demonstrate what Sudbury has to offer as a place to live in and visit.

Hundreds of people attended the ‘Sudbury on Show’ event which took place at St Peter’s Church and in the Town Hall on Saturday.

In Sudbury and Great Cornard, there are 250 voluntary organisations covering a broad spectrum of charitable causes, activities and interests, which town mayor Robert Spivey said was impressive for an area with a population of around 22,000 people.

Speaking at the event, he said: “Sudbury on Show is to show people that Sudbury is a vibrant town with a lot to offer.

“It is also a very caring town and this is reflected in what many of the organisations do. For example we have Home-Start which offers support for parents with young children who are going through difficult times. It identifies people who might have problems and can prevent the development of family crises by referring people to other organisations that can help.”

Mr Spivey said Sudbury on Show was not just for the benefit of visitors. He added: “There are many people who live in Sudbury who don’t always know what’s going on or what is available, so something like this lets them see there is a lot happening in this town.”

Among the organisations setting up stalls in the two locations on Saturday were Sudbury Carnival Committee, Sudbury Bowls Club, Sudbury Market Town Partnership and the Rotary Club of Sudbury Talbot.

Rotary club member Judith Sargent said: “There is a drive in Rotary to try to attract younger members because it is generally perceived as being for older people. Sudbury on Show enables us to showcase exactly what we do.”

Jane Hatton, Sudbury town centre manager, was promoting the forthcoming Taste of Sudbury Food and Drink Festival, which will take place on June 14. She said: “There are so many organisations doing such a lot of good things in Sudbury. It takes an event like this with so many of the groups coming together to promote what they do to show people how lucky we are in this town.”

Sudbury Carnival Committee staged a display of photographs from last year’s event, which was the first for more than 20 years. Thy are appealing for participants for this year’s carnival which will take place on August 29 and 30.