A POODLE made from cauliflower, a mouse made from a sweet potato and a train made from the centres of toilet rolls all won three children cups at St Giles on the Heath horticultural show.

Eight-year-old friends Maysie Gow and Honey Sloman, who entered prize-winning animals made from vegetables, shared the cup for girls aged under 11 while three-year-old train-maker Alex Lewis won the cup for boys aged under 11.

Organisers were delighted with the support for this year’s event, which attracted 325 entries from 48 entrants in the open sections.

In addition, entries in the school section, including handicrafts, paintings and drawings, covered six tabletops in the main hall.

Subjects ranged from paper meals and cardboard lighthouses to ‘impressionist’ scenes and paintings of flowers and animal skulls in the style of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Mrs Marion Perkin presented the prizes. She said: “I have been attending the show for 16 or 17 years and as usual there is an enormous array of fruit, vegetables and floral exhibits.

“There is also some very innovative work in the children’s classes.”

Show secretary, Susie Acott, said: “This is my first year as secretary and I would like to thank the committee and all the people behind the scenes who have worked so hard to make the show a success.”

She also thanked the judges, the entrants and all the people who supported the show.

Susie said there were no records as to when the show had actually started and she asked if anyone could provide information on when the first show was staged.

Judges were: vegetables and fruit, Mark Preece; homecraft, Anne Rowe; flowers, pot plants and floral art, Ruth Allin; art, handicraft and junior classes, Kari McGowan; photography, Andrew Axford.

This year there was a new cup for the runner-up in the art section, donated by Mrs Frances Johnson in memory of her late husband, Alan.

This year, for the first time, photographs of the show and the prize-winners are available to view online.