75514-02DADS and lads turned out in force for a Scalextrics show. The Swindon Scalextrics and Slot Car Show attracted traders from as far away as Italy and Spain as well as hundreds of local enthusiasts to the Oasis on Saturday.

Four circuits and 45 stallholders made it one of the biggest events of its kind nationwide.

Robert Learmouth, who organised the event with his brother Jon, was delighted with the turnout.

"We were overwhelmed by the numbers," he said. "We had nearly 400 people through the doors, which certainly exceeded our expectations.

"A lot of them were what we call dads and lads rather than the hard core enthusiasts.

"It is a very big thing these days and about 90 per cent of it is the dads and lads. That is what we were aiming at getting people to come along and have a go.

"And we had a lot of happy customers."

Robert, 36, and Jon, 32, from West Swindon, run Slotcity, a slot car mail order company.

But they wanted to organise an event where fans could meet up.

"These days it is very difficult finding the model shops to buy the nice pieces," Robert said. "A lot is done on the internet. We wanted to get it back on the ground."