A HEALTHY crowd turned out for West Fest on Saturday, leaving organisers hopeful that they will be able to aid many local good causes.

The annual music bash, held on the playing fields off Old Hollow, West Malvern, benefitted from being held on the sunniest day of the year so far, leading to a near-capacity crowd.

The festival is a genuinely local event, with all the acts providing their services for free, and with proceeds going to good causes around West Malvern and beyond.

Paul White, a member of the organising committee, who also performed with the Ray Mytton band on the day, said: “It was a very successful event.

“Sometimes you get festivals where not all the bands perform well, but not this one; all the performers were really good.”

Among the acts that stood out were Nick Hooper, a prolific film musician who did the scores for two harry Potter movies, and who now moves between writing novels and performing his own songs. He was joined on stage by violinist Judith Henderson.

Another hit of the day was Carrie Martin, an acoustic guitarist, singer and songwriter from Hull, who after having largely given up music during the 1990s, was inspired to return to playing by Gordon Giltrap, himself a West Fest veteran.

Mr White said: “It got a bit hot for some of the bands as the day went on and the sun was shining right in their faces, but everyone enjoyed themselves and the music was great.”