THE hottest Three Counties Show for years drew bumper crowds withvisitor numbers well up on last year's 99,000.

The Malvern sunshine saw people from across the three counties shed their waterproofs and don short-sleeved shirts, shorts, sandals, sunglasses, straw hats and bikini tops, while ice-cream and drink sellers did a roaring trade. It was so hot that several people fainted.

The livestock - some of the finest in Britain - also felt the heat and many were whisked away at the earliest opportunity.

But there was stock galore to see on each of the three days and, last Sunday, the rare breed animals arrived to swell the numbers.

Livestock tallies were up on previous years and there was a superb display but, as show spokeswoman Sharon Gilbert explained, it was premature to say whether the show had returned to when the entire agricultural industry turned out.

"Certainly it's encouraging that the stock numbers are up but the show will probably never go back to exactly the way it was," she added

The countryside was changing and the show society needed a wider variety of attractions than ever to ensure its success in the future, she said.

The new zoning system made it easier for visitors to locate what they wanted to see on the huge showground and, with temperatures soaring, this proved a blessing. An abundance of rural activities of many different descriptions attracted large attendances, including the Young Farmers' section, and the horse village that bristled with activity.

Hereford cattle breeders were to the fore. The reserve inter-breed champion was the Hereford, Haven Wizard, a 30-month-old home-bred bull from the Haven herd of E L Lewis and Son, Dilwyn. The inter-breed sheep championship went to Viv Samuel of Upper Monkton, St Weonards, who had his Suffolk flock wiped out by foot and mouth four years ago. He won with a yearling ram.

Longhorn breeder J Gray of Lower Eggleton, was the reserve supreme championship winner in the rare breeds section with a junior male.

Also, in the Any Other rare breed pig classes, pensioner Bill Jenkins of Dinmore, Bodenham, scooped the supreme championship.

Newent pig breeders S L Barnfield lifted the supreme award with a traditional Berkshire pig in the main show section while the supreme champion and reserve among the Gloucestershire Old Spots went to H Moss of Boraston, Tenbury.