New waterfront location for Falmouth Oyster Festival deemed a success

The scenic view from the new location of Falmouth Oyster Festival

The new waterfront location for this year's Oyster Festival in Falmouth has been deemed a success by organisers.

It comes as droves of people travelled to Falmouth as the festival got into full swing on Saturday.

About 10,000 oysters were expected to be eaten over the course of the weekend at the event's new waterfront location in Church Street car park.

The annual festival celebrates the native Fal Oyster and the start of the dredging season.

This year, the festival had its biggest-ever marquee, packed full of local food and drink.

Samantha Groom, one of the organisers of the event, said the new location had been "absolutely brilliant".

Ms Groom said: "It's been absolutely brilliant, we've had really good feedback actually, I think everybody likes it."

Local fundraising Betty Stoggs - the namesake of one Skinner's Brewery's beers, was also at the festival.

Betty Stoggs was at the festival raising funds for charity

There were doubts about whether the character would be at the event after it was announced recently Skinners Brewery had gone into administration.

But Fred Thomas, who dresses up as Betty, was in costume raising money for Children's Hospice South West.

Mr Thomas said he had raised about £360,000 for local charities over the years.

He told BBC Radio Cornwall: "Originally, we started the character in about 2007, it was only ever going to be for 10 appearances for the 10th anniversary of Betty Stoggs beer, but since then it's just become a charitable character and it's gone on and raised phenomenal amounts of money.

"It's in the region of £360,000 now."