Bristol enthusiasts flock to the miniature world of engineering

Organisers of a model engineering exhibition were overrun with enthusiasts at Thornbury Leisure Centre.

The three-day show, held on Friday, Saturday and yesterday, was staged in the centenary year of the Bristol Society of Model and Experimental Engineers, which is one of the city's oldest organisations.

Secretary Kevin Slater said: "On the first day opening time coincided with some pretty heavy rain so people took refuge in their cars. But during the first couple of hours we were mobbed by visitors – mostly the really keen modellers who wanted to look at something specific or perhaps visit a stall to buy something in particular."

The society was founded in 1909 by enthusiasts keen to try out new technologies, such as electric light and radio.

Now its members are best known for running the model railway track at Ashton Court, which is having a bumper year.

Mr Slater said: "We're carrying record passengers with well over 1,000 every day we run."

The exhibition covered the past 100 years with workshops on how models, from clocks to steam engines, are made.