Art, food and fun aplenty featured at the historic Witney Feast.

The event, which dates back to 1243, started on Monday and attracted hundreds of people to the Leys Recreation Ground in the town.

The two-day event kicked off with a service in St Mary's Church, followed by the special annual fairground service held by the galloping horses carousel.

The feast, a mix of fairground rides, special church services and a hog roast, dates back to the consecration of St Mary's Church in medieval times when the town was given a deer to feast on to mark the event. Now, the event attracts children and adults alike to enjoy the fun of the fair, a mix of fairground classics and newer white knuckle rides, which have travelled up from the St Giles fair in Oxford.

Three-year-old Ella Willis made her third visit to the fair on Monday with her three-month old brother Alfie.

Her mother Naomi Skingsley, of Deer Park, Witney, has been visiting the fair for the past 30 years.

She said: "It's great fun and the kids love it.

"I have been taking Ella ever since she was born and now we take Alfie too, who is a bit too young to appreciate it all.

"I like it because everyone from Witney goes and you can bump into people you haven't seen for years."

St Mary's Church also held an art exhibition over the two days showcasing the work of local artists and a miniature model of the fairground. Parish warden Steve Holborough said both the services and the exhibition were well attended.

He added: "They went very well. The exhibition was the highest standard we have had for years, but not to say that we haven't had a high standard in the past.

"We had a lot of people visiting the church as we were open all day. It is nice that people still recognise the religious element."

Elizabeth Thomson, team vicar for St Mary's, said: "It allows the church to be a meeting place for the whole town.

"It is great that something that started as a religious feast, with a history going back to Medieval times, is still happening."