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Haverhill Festival came to an end yesterday after two very successful weeks of arts and leisure events in the town.

The well-tried formula of blending a few big name acts at Haverhill Arts Centre with contributions from local groups and some street entertainment proved popular again.

The festival is sponsored by Haverhill Town Council, whose arts and leisure manager Nick Keeble admitted they had been slightly concerned beforehand, because attendance at such events nationwide had been enduring a downturn.

"In the end it turned out okay," he said. "We were worried early on because there was a slump in ticket sales, but the second week in particular was very good and achieved 75 per cent occupancy, with good audiences for comedian Arthur Smith and musician Kathryn Tickell."

He was also very pleased with the events on the market square on Saturday, when three groups of entertainers gave a rolling programme of shows which attracted a lot of interest.

"It was about maintaining and building audiences," he said, "and we achieved that very well."

A comedy act based on Wimbledon tennis, a group of jugglers and a group called What A Palaver with a show involving birds and pirates, took turns and kept the attention throughout the day.

The festival was rounded off yesterday evening by the traditional Last Night Of The Festival Proms concert given by Haverhill Silver Band and Haverhill Operatic Society, augmented by members of Haverhill Choral Society.

The concert attracted a good audience of flag-wavers in the Old Independent Church, and Mr Keeble said the feedback afterwards had been tremendous with people enjoying the concert greatly.