The final touches are being put to the annual Abingdon Lions Club Gala which is to be held in Rye Farm meadow on Bank Holiday Monday (August 27).

Profits from the day will help support the drugs awareness campaign for schools being run by Thames Valley Police, in conjunction with schools in the county.

TACADE - The Advisory Centre for Alcohol and Drugs Education - provides training programmes and publications to educate young people in life skills, and highlight the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse.

Abingdon Lions member Ernest Kohn appealed for public support of the gala. "It will be an excellent day out full of entertainment for all ages. Our aim is to provide TACADE information packs for every school in the district and we need all the support we can get to help our children."

The centrepiece of the gala will be a rally organised by the MG Car Club displaying a wide range of vintage and classic models manufactured by the company in Abingdon.

Car sales companies will be displaying the latest models and vintage military vehicles will also be on show. Both the Fire Service and Red Cross will also be there.

Also on the programme are helicopter rides, falconry displays, clowns, races, games for children, tug-of-war, a giant slide, laser shooting, and horizontal bungee running - where competitors have to see how far they can run before the bungee restraints prove too strong and return them to their starting point.