HUNDREDS of people enjoyed one of the region's most prestigious garden fairs on Sunday and raised around £10,000 for a school's outdoor learning centre.

The Rowdeford Garden Fair at Rowde, near Devizes, has become a firm fixture for plant lovers and families looking for a fun day out.

It was announced last month that work was about to start on the outdoor learning centre at Rowdeford School and this week headteacher Ingrid Sidmouth said it was on target to be finished this summer.

She hopes a celebrity will cut the ribbon on the first phase of the centre which will allow the school which caters for children with complex learning difficulties to learn in an innovative way and environment.

The school keeps a number of animals and some of these including donkeys, alpacas and rabbits were on show at the fair which is one of the biggest fundraisers for the centre.

Mrs Sidmouth said: "It was a wonderful day. We were very lucky with the weather as it did not rain until 4pm which was just after we finished. Everything went brilliantly and I think it was one of the best ever.

"In addition to the plants and food on offer we had quite a few activities including face painting and forest school fun. It was lovely for people to be able to see our wonderful grounds and a lot of people commented on how good everything looked.

"The garden fair is now a firm date in many people's calendars and we have already set next year's which will be May 20."

She thanked everyone who was on the garden fair committee and others who had also worked to make it such a success.

Planning permission for the outdoor centre was given in September 2014 and so far more than £200,000 has been raised to build and equip it. But Mrs Sidmouth said fundraising would continue as a second phase is planned. She said: "Outdoor learning helps to develop a wide range of skills including communication, interaction, confidence and team building and helps to meet sensory and physical needs and is so beneficial for mental well-being."