SEAFOOD delicacies drew thousands of people to the New Forest at the weekend.

Following the success of its inaugural event, the second Lymington Seafood Festival returned to the town, with almost 20,000 people attending the two-day event.

Around 90 different stalls were set up, selling everything from fresh fish to lobsters, prawns, and oysters.

Ringwood Brewery was the main sponsor for the event, which celebrated Lymington’s local produce, cultural heritage and links to the sea.

A number of artisan food and drink producers were showcased at the event and, between them, they cooked up around 300 different seafood dishes across the weekend.

There was also live music featuring a variety of soul, jazz, blues, and ska musicians.

And foodies were able to enjoy demonstrations from a number of talented regional chefs, as well as Jane Devonshire, Masterchef winner 2016.

The Jetty’s Alex Aitken showed off his culinary prowess in the demo kitchen, along with Matt Tomkinson from the Montagu Arms hotel in Beaulieu and Chewton Glen’s Luke Matthews.

Each year the event raises money for a different charity, and this year the festival was supporting Sail 4 Cancer.

The Hampshire-based charity provides sailing experiences and respite days for those suffering with cancer or their families.

Despite the wet weather, the festival still saw a turnout of 12,000 people on Saturday and a further 7,000 on Sunday

Domine Nowell, event director, said she was “thrilled” with the attendance, especially as it was only the festival’s second year.

“Despite the weather, there was a brilliant crowd. We’ve had a great turnout of stalls and people. Many stallholders sold out of produce,” she said.

“Thousands of people were there dancing in the rain to the live music. There were fantastic performances all weekend.

“There were also two demo kitchens. Jane Devonshire attracted a huge crowd. All the chefs produced some amazing dishes.

“People enjoyed a range of dishes including oysters, scallops with chorizo, grilled lobster, and cockle popcorn.”

She added: “The weather wasn’t on our side but everyone still had a really good time.

“This is an annual event and we are really looking forward to bringing it back to Lymington next year.”