SATURDAY night went with a bang for the thousands of people who packed on to Pitchcroft Racecourse to watch fireworks, enjoy a funfair and stay warm beside the bonfire.

The boggy conditions did not stop young and old enjoying themselves and organisers were grateful for a clear, starry night.

Volunteers worked from 8am to ensure a smooth-running evening, organised by the Worcester and Malvern Round Tables.

More than £18,000 was raised on the night.

All the money made by the Worcester branch will go to the Make A Difference campaign, supported by the Evening News.

Nick Close, of Worcester Round Table, said it had been a "marvellous show".

"We had about 25 minutes of fireworks, which was greeted by a round of applause, which shows they went down well this year because we don't always get that," he said.

"It was a bit soggy but, thankfully, fears of a downpour didn't materialise and many people said they enjoyed themselves.

"We spent £5,000 on the fireworks to ensure people got a good show.

"We're looking forward to next year now, which is likely to be a big event as it's the 400th anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot."

More volunteers gave up time yesterday morning to pick up litter from Pitchcroft, and filled 12 bags of rubbish.

The fire was lit by Worcester Mayor, Coun Allah Ditta, assisted by Phillipa Jones, aged seven, from Malvern, and Ryan Morris, aged eight, from St Peter's, Worcester, who both won Evening News competitions.

Ryan was not short of a few words to describe the experience.

"It was extraordinary, brilliant and fantastic," he said.

"It was great fun and I really liked the loud fireworks that screamed up into the air."

Phillipa said: "The rockets were really noisy so I preferred the little swirly ones that make a fizzy noise at the end."

Several organised fireworks displays - including that at Worcester City Football Club's ground on Friday night - and hundreds of impromptu ones were held at homes across the region.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said, although Saturday was a busy night, there were no major incidents, with most of the work caused by "malicious" hoax calls.

The Vale Wildlife Rescue Centre, based in Beckford, also said they had a quiet night.

"Usually we get at least one hedgehog that is injured on bonfire night, but thankfully we had nothing over the weekend," said a spokeswoman.