THE seaside paid a visit to Swindon town centre - much to the delight of shoppers.

Swindon By The Sea was set up to recreate the Trip fortnight, which took place for railway workers between 1848 and 1976.

Street entertainers from as far as Bristol and Dorset flocked to the town to amuse shoppers, while up to 50 children at a time sat down to watch the Punch and Judy shows.

Lawrie Moore, a from Gorse Hill, was watching the puppets with his children and said: "The seaside is a great place to be when it's not raining and the kids seem to be enjoying the event.

"I think that these type of events should certainly be held more often, especially in the school holidays."

Stacey Ball, of the town centre, said: "It's definitely a good idea and the children seem to be really enjoying the Punch and Judy show. This kind of thing should happen more often."

Shirley Gosling and Abbey Ferrari came from Bristol dressed as mermaids.

"We're really enjoying ourselves and bringing the sea to Swindon," said Shirley. "But we'd like it if there was some sand we could sit on."

Swindon town centre manager Bernie Maguire was delighted at how the event was being received and said: "The event is going very well. The train ride is taking full carriages, the Punch and Judy has been a great success with the kids and I'm told that the virtual coconut shy is so popular you can't get near it.

"We expected a good turnout but the reaction has been beyond our expectations, so obviously we are very pleased."

Gavin Morris, who was running the coconut shy, said: "Our shy has been very popular and we have enjoyed making the public laugh."

Organisers are planning to return the sea to Swindon next year.

Swindon By The Sea runs until Saturday.