HUNDREDS of families packed the streets of a Hampshire town for the chance to enjoy the first watercress of the season, Hampshire cuisine and entertaining competitions.

The Alresford Watercress Festival was back and bigger than ever with the streets rammed full of stalls selling gourmet food and treats.

Attracting people from across the county, the annual festival brought together the community and food-lovers for a day of taste tests and the chance to celebrate the first watercress crop.

The entire centre of Alresford was taken over by the event and one of the biggest attractions of the day was the world record watercress eating championships.

The competition saw 16 people stuff their mouths full of two bags of watercress including the current Guinness World record holder Glen Walsh, who won the title in 2013 at 32 seconds.

This year Glen managed to hold onto his title for the fifth year running, winning the championships in one minute 37 seconds and said he would be back next year to beat his personal best.

Popular features of the event also included cooking demonstrations and scores of stalls from hampshire Farmers' Market showcasing the best local producers of food and drink.

Families also enjoyed arts, crafts, jewellery, clothing and accessories for the house.

Children also had the chance to test their circus skills with workshops, face-painting, falconry displays and a petting farm and the streets were packed with people at the main stage enjoying performances from Hampshire musicians and dancers.