THOUSANDS descended on the Three Counties Showground for the annual Malvern Autumn Show this weekend.

Gardeners from across the country attended the event, which featured a national giant vegetable contest and the Royal Horticultural Society's flower show.

Foodies also enjoyed cuisine from across the world at the show's food and drink hall.

One visitor, Kay Floyd, aged 51, from Bristol, said: "I've been coming to the spring show for over 10 years with my friend, it's a girls' day out.

"This is our first time to this show. We like all the crafty things. There's very good quality crafty things here.

"There's lots of places to sit down now. When we first came there wasn't anywhere to sit."

The garden designer said the plants were completely different from the Malvern Spring Festival.

Ms Floyd also lavished praised on the cuisine at the event after enjoying Greek Souvlaki and a Bakewell tart from the food hall, which featured dishes from India, Thailand and other countries.

She added that the weather could not have been any better for the event.

There was also a record level of participation in the CANNA UK National Vegetables Championship, with almost 600 entries.

The competition consists of 33 categories, such as the World's Heaviest Celery contest, which was won by Gary Heeks and his 42kg plant.

A variety of shops and businesses also had stands at the show.

One trader, Mike Lester, CEO of knitwear store WoolOvers, said business was up on last year's event.

He added: "It's been a fantastic day today, it's really good to see so many people out.

"This is one of the biggest shows of our year. We are half way through and we are 10 per cent up on last year."