A FAMILY fun day returns to Prestwich on Sunday to mark a special anniversary.

Prestwich Clough Day was organised as a one-off event in 2005 to celebrate the centenary of the Clough being opened up to the public.

A decade on, the annual celebration of country crafts is still going strong and organisers are encouraging people to come along to join in the fun.

"Many of us 10 years ago would never have imagined that we would still be holding the Clough Day now and we are very proud to be still here, putting on free family entertainment," said the event's organisation committee chairman David Stanley.

From noon until 5pm in Church Lane and St Mary's Flower Park, there will be children's fairground rides, a football penalty shoot-out, a treasure hunt run by Slattery's, Punch and Judy show, bouncy castle, and appearance from Squeaky The Clown and magician Bryan Berry.

Animal enthusiasts are in for a treat as there will be a falconry display and stalls showing off the work of Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, Greenmount Bird Sanctuary, Oasis Ferret Rescue, South Lancashire Bat Group and other groups.

Prestwich Zumba Group will be strutting their stuff and there will be mini plays performed by Footlights Theatre School.

Music will come courtesy of Oldham Band Lees, Red Rose Brass Band and folk artists Waterside and there will be dozens of other stalls profiling local businesses and community groups.

A wide range of food and drink will be on sale from ice cream to coffee, pizzas to pies.

Special guest for the day will be the Archdeacon of Bolton, the Venerable David Bailey, who is visiting the nearby St Mary's Church.

Mr Stanley added: "Since we put out an appeal for help in The Guide earlier this year, two more volunteers have come forward to help and The Village Opticians in Prestwich have agreed to sponsor our Bands in the Park events, which has put us on a sounder financial footing.

"We are really looking forward to the day. I want to thank all my team and all of the sponsors for their effort in ensuring this year's event is a big success.

"The thing we are most proud of is that, over the last decade, a lot of groups have formed, such as Incredible Edible's Prestwich and District branch, the Village Co-op and those behind Prestwich Book Festival and many of the people behind them know each other through the Clough Day."