HEAVY rain and thunderstorms during the weekend did not deter music lovers at the Mello festival near Upton.

The event, being held for the first time in the grounds of the historic Severn End, Hanley Castle, drew thousands of festival-goers from near and far for two days of music and family fun.

Organisers deployed off-road vehicles to help out revellers whose car got stuck in the mud as they moved on to the site.

The line-up featured top acts including Soul II Soul, Badly Drawn Boy, Toploader, the Christians, Electric Swing Circus, Omar and Toyah.

And the family-friendly event featured a whole range of activities for children, including a huge range of inflatables, circus skills, drum workshops, kites workshops and much more.

And the food and drink on offer in the event's biggest-ever food village included a pie kitchen, pizza, fish and chips, noodle bar, Tex-Mex and much more, including vegetarian and gluten-free options.

Organiser Kevin Quaine said: " We've got thousands of people coming, and no-one is worried by a bit of mud. Mud's something your expect at a festival.

"Everyone's in a really good mood and enjoying themselves."

The event has been held at the old airfield at Throckmorton, near Pershore, in previous years, and this was the first time at Severn End, home of the Lechmere family.

"It's a beautiful setting and the owners couldn't have been kinder," said Mr Quaine.

Among the festival-goers were Sean and Elaine Rogers, whose son Haydn's band Population 7 was in the line-up.

Mr Rogers said: "We only about ten minutes' drive away, in Malvern Wells, but we came to support Haydn. He's been in bands for years, and we're really pleased that his band got the 8pm slot on Sunday. That's a really prime spot."

As well as the main stage, the festival hosted the Severn Sounds stage, which provided a platform for younger musicians, including Freya Mackinnon, aged 10, and a trio from Christopher Whitehead School, Summer-Lili, Charles and Sapphire.

Di Howland of Severn Sounds, said: "We've got young performers from the ages of 11 to 22 appearing and it's really great that the festival has given them this opportunity to perform in public."