Marianne is star of Long Clawson's food festival

A local Masterchef finalist attracted record crowds to a village food festival.

More than 700 people went to the Long Clawson Food Festival at the village hall, in Back Lane, on Saturday, and organisers say there were twice as many food lovers than they had expected.

Masterchef: The Professionals finalist Marianne Lumb, who was born in the village, opened the event.

Foodies enjoyed produce from about 30 stalls, including locally produced beer and cakes.

Children were able to make their own pizzas, while their parents shopped and ate.

Organiser Simon Shouler said: "It was a terrific event and we got twice as many people as we were expecting. I think Marianne drew a lot of people in and she was fantastic."

Marianne said: "It was a great event and really nice to support the church where I was christened. I managed to sell 50 books and all the profits went to the organisers. It's fantastic coming home after moving to London."

The aim of the event was to raise money for St Remigius Church, in Long Clawson.

More than £2,000 was raised to go towards the upkeep and general expenses of the church.