A TORRENTIAL downpour did not dampen the spirits at Saturday's BomFest music event.

Tom Hingley, lead singer with headline act The Lovers, did not let the rain deter him as he stepped off the stage to perform right in front of the crowd.

He told the audience, "if you're all getting wet, so am I".

Earlier in the day, the sun had shone on Locke Park and the 3,500 music lovers who turned up and Barnsley Original Music committee member Iain West said it felt like a proper festival.

"It was fantastic and it went really well. It rained at about 6.30pm but it was already really busy. It was a real success, we're still learning because Locke Park was a new site for us and the scale of it was bigger than ever.

"It was a long day for us walking around the park."

He said it was not just local music fans who turned up, with punters from as far afield as Bangor and Newcastle travelling to Barnsley to watch the show.

There were several music stages and Iain said each area had its own 'personality'.

A parade of about 60 children was led around the festival site mid-afternoon by Barnsley's samba band, Ritmo Unido.

But, despite all the activity, Iain did not see much of the music. He said: "I did not get to see one band because we were so busy running about the site."