Thousands of flower enthusiasts had poured into north Shropshire at the weekend despite the wet weather for the annual Wem Sweet Pea Show.

Organisers have hailed Saturday and Sunday’s event as a success as people visited from around the country. More than 2,000 people are believed to have descended on Wem for the show, where about 50 exhibitors showcased their plants.

A special feature of the show was a section for old fashioned sweet peas, where seeds were made available by post or from the sweet pea society prior to the event.

The event also featured a number of stands offering advice, membership, horticultural accessories, gifts, cards, souvenirs, perennial plants and seeds for old-fashioned Eckford and Spencer sweet peas.

Visitors from as far afield as Scotland were believed to have attended the show, which took place at Thomas Adams School, Stanier Hall and a marquee in High Street.

A free community bus met trains from 10am on both days from the station and also picked up from the car park.

The show celebrates the close association Wem has had with sweet peas dating back to 1888.

Hybridist Henry Eckford moved to the town to continue his work with the flowers and launch what was to become a famous global seeds business. Organisers are due to meet this week to discuss where improvements can be made for next year’s show.

Val Good, secretary of the Eckford Sweet Pea Society of Wem, was awarded an MBE for services to horticulture in the recent honours list. She said the event was started off by her late husband John and has continued ever since.

“We probably had about 2,000 to 2,500 people attend,” she said.

“We had some heavy downpours, but some sunshine as well. But it was all undercover.

“The weather didn’t stop people from coming because they knew it was inside.

“Visitors seemed to enjoy themselves and the stands did lots of trade.

“We will have an early meeting to discuss things we can improve on.”