TWELVE months of planning and a galaxy of family-style attractions spectacularly failed to draw the crowds to Malvern's first Leisuretime Show at the weekend.

Only 7,000 visitors passed through the Three Counties Showground turnstiles over the two days, a far cry from the organisers' hoped-for 30,000.

"Naturally, we're very disappointed," said press officer Sharon Gilbert. "Saturday's dismal weather obviously didn't help, but that can't have been the whole story.

"We're going to have to sit down and work out where we go from here.

"We want to continue the show, but we're going to consider all the various aspects of this one first. It has been a very steep learning curve for us."

Convinced

The Leisuretime Show was the first completely non-farming or horticultural event organised by the Three Counties Agricultural Society.

It drew on the family attractions added to last year's Three Counties Show - such as pop concerts, extreme sports and celebrity appearances - after the farming side was hit by foot-and-mouth.

The success of the family-style items last year convinced us there was room for a show devoted completely to them, Ms Gilbert added.

"The irony was that the appearance of television DIY expert Linda Barker and the Kylie Minogue tribute act did draw large crowds.

"It was just that the overall attendance was lacking.