INTO only its third year, the Caerleon Fun Day has become a major event in the town’s calendar, and a big charity fundraiser.

And though the weather may not have been at its kindest this time around, around 4,000 people turned out at Caerleon’s rugby ground to enjoy several hours of colourful entertainment.

Bouncy castles, face painting, rides, and a range of stalls were busy entertaining and feeding the crowd, while an assault course and climbing walls kept the more intrepid occupied.

“The aim is to get bigger and better, and we did that this year,” said organiser Dave Allison, a serving soldier with the Royal Welsh.

“Next year, I’d like it to get even bigger, with more stalls and a performance stage for dance groups and others.”

No stranger to fundraising, Mr Allison, recently organised what turned out to be the world’s longest game of continuous rugby, at Worcester’s Sixways Stadium.

That raised more than £40,000 for the Firefighters Charity and Scotty’s Little Soldiers which supports children who have lost a parent serving in the armed forces, and Mr Allison estimates that he has been involved in helping raise around £250,000 for good causes in four years.

This year, the Severn Area Rescue Association will benefit from the Caerleon Fun Day, it is not yet known exactly how much was raised.

“A different charity benefits each year, and SARA does fantastic work,” said Mr Allison.

Also held at the fun day was an annual rugby match in memory of Corporal Mike Thacker who died in 2012 whilst serving in Afghanistan.