AVID toy collectors and families flocked to the County Ground to see if they could grab a bargain.

Swindon Toy & Train Fair returned yesterday for the second year, inviting dealers from across the country to display their treasures.

Ronnie Davies and Tim Pearson, both from Swindon, worked together to bring the event to life.

Parents brought their children to try to buy toys from days gone by.

John Linstead, 38, from Stratton went with his six-year-old son Ellis.

He said: “We wanted to have a look and I wanted to show my little boy the stuff I had when I was a kid.

“It’s a bit nostalgic. I still have toys from when I was a kid. Sometimes I buy but I’m not a collector.”

Ellis added: “I like Lego and Avengers. I’ve seen toys I’d like to have.”

Simon Worthington, 76, came from Oxford in a bid to find a rare item. He said: “I support Ronnie in his toy fairs. He has resurrected these fairs because over the past few years toy fairs have died.

"People buy online, but I come here to see the dealers.

“I have been collecting for years and collect all sort of things – aircrafts, books or model buses. I’m always looking for the rare ones.”

Evelyn Grounsell and her husband Dave travelled from Gloucester to share their collection and sell some.

She said: “It’s fun, meeting people and learning about the toys.

"It makes you think about the story behind the toy, think about all the children that used to buy those toys or get them for Christmas.

“It’s a happy thing to do.”

Organiser Ronnie said: “We’ve been running toys fairs locally for eight years now. We had one in Cirencester, then in Didcot and because we are from Swindon, we wanted to put events here.

“It’s a massive industry. Some people come for the nostalgia, and then we get the younger people now who are collecting Star Wars, for example.”

There were about 30 dealers attending the event, displaying thousands of toys from different eras.

Ronnie added: “The reason people collect I find is that when they were kids, they didn’t have enough money to buy the toys, so they collected when they get older.”

Ronnie hopes to organise this event again next year.