THE SIGHTS, sounds and smells of a bygone era filled the streets of Tavistock on Sunday for the Robey Trust?s 13th annual Steam Fair.

Bedford Square was closed off to all traffic except that of the steam variety and around 100 classic cars, including a superb display from the Morgan Club.

The sun shone on the event which attracted a record number of visitors to the ?Collection of Collections? in the Pannier Market and there were queues all day for rides on the steam engines.

The display included a Sentinal steam lorry and Robey and Tasker steam tractors and a good collection of scale steam engines with owners coming from as far afield as Farnham in Surrey.

Vintage classics to recent day classic cars including Aston Martins and Ford Anglias drew the crowds and military vehicles, stationary engines and a steam tractor trail increased the variety on offer.

Chairman of the Robey Trust John Turner said by holding the event in the centre of town, rather than in a large field on the outskirts like most steam fairs, resulted in more visitors.

?I think we attract people who would not normally come to an event of this kind and the pannier market was packed with people all day to see the collections,? he said.

Blow lamps, Meccano, Hornby Railway packaging, a collection of light horsedrawn carriages including the Tavistock Omnibus were just some of the displays held in the market with various demonstrations going on throughout the day.

?Next year we will be celebrating the 21st anniversary of the Robey Trust so we look forward to another great event,? added Mr Turner.

The charity is dedicated to the preservation, restoration, operation and display of steam vehicles and other historic engines, especially items manufactured by Robey and Co Ltd of Lincoln.

The chairman also praised the police and the ATC Squadron, without whose help the fair would not be possible.