Hundreds of families had a cracking Easter as they flocked to a free family fun day in Dovercourt.

The event, staged at the Orwell Place Event Space in the town centre on Easter Saturday, featured street performers, fairground rides, live entertainment, face painting and an Easter egg hunt.

The egg-citing day of family fun was presented by the High Street Partnership and organised by Tendring Council’s Tendring4Growth group.

It was funded by the government’s High Street Accelerator Fund which aims to boost ten town centres around the country including Dovercourt’s.

Councillor Ivan Henderson, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Economic Growth, Regeneration and Tourism said: “It was an absolutely brilliant day. We were delighted by the number of people who turned out to enjoy this terrific event and we could see by the smiles on their faces that they had a wonderful time.

“It also meant thousands of people were in the town centre which gave an extra boost to the shops.”

He added: “The High Street Accelerator Fund is all about boosting the town centre, rejuvenating what it has to offer and making it an attractive and vibrant place to visit. We certainly achieved that this weekend and were thrilled by the success of the whole event.”

The High Street Accelerator Fund has seen £737,000 allocated to boost Dovercourt town centre making it a more attractive location.

So far, initiatives have included revamping shop fronts, the creation of a new website as a comprehensive database of businesses and organisations and new banners to give Dovercourt a distinct identity.

In addition to the High Street improvements, funding will be used to strengthen transport links between the seafront, the High Street and park spaces, while green spaces will be added to the town’s retail areas and access routes into the town centre.