EASTER bonnets, eggs and animals have provided plenty of fun for children in Swindon.

The festive excitement began last week when recruitment company Select descended on Swindon's Great Western Hospital.

The company paid its visit to hand out Easter eggs, collected by staff, to youngsters on the children's ward.

Also getting in on the fun was Gorse Hill Infants School.

Youngsters there made their own Easter bonnets and staged a parade to show off the fruits of their labours.

On Good Friday fun was on offer at the Swindon and Cricklade Railway as the Easter Bunny handed out eggs.

The railway ran Easter trains from the station to Hayes Knoll near Cricklade.

David Brown and Louise Collier, of Cricklade, were there with sons Nathan, seven, and Simeon, four.

Nathan said: "It was really fun, and I loved the bumpy train ride."

Train guard Bob Simmons, who has worked at the railways since it started 30 years ago, said: "It was quite a popular event. We always get quite a crowd during Easter and Christmas. All the kids have a great time and love meeting the bunny and getting Easter eggs."

Despite the wintry weather on Saturday, Roves Farm at Sevenhampton ran an Easter egg hunt.

Hundreds of youngsters took part in the event, which saw children and parents venture out onto the farm grounds to find the hidden Easter rabbit. By the end of the day the organisers had played host to more than 500 children.

Linda Davies, a mum-of-three from Swindon, said: "We did this last year and loved it so much we came back again this year.

"It was a lot of fun and all the children had a blast."

Her six-year-old son Craig said: "My favourite thing at Roves is the tractor ride."

And the fun continued on Sunday when Easter egg hunts were staged at Lydiard Park and the Link centre.

The Lydiard event attracted hundreds of youngsters, who hunted out eggs through signs dotted around the park.

Hannah and Marc Bley, from Grange Park, were there with son Mackenzie, two.

"It's a great activity," said Hannah.

"The children get plenty of fresh air and have a lot of fun too. It's a great family day out."

Another Easter egg hunt was run at the Link Centre - on ice.

From 10am to noon children were scouring the ice for eggs Griffin Mordak, 12, said: "I won one of the star prizes, the big Easter egg. It was difficult to find at first but after looking around for a bit I spotted it and it was great."

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