CROWDS attending race meetings at Great Yarmouth racecourse this summer have increased by 10pc on the same period last year.A bumper crowd of 7,500 visited the Jellicoe Road track for a family fun day on August 30 - the highest at the course for seven years, while the total number of visitors for the 10 race meetings in July and August was 33,000, up by 3,500 on the same period last year.

CROWDS attending race meetings at Great Yarmouth racecourse this summer have increased by 10pc on the same period last year.

A bumper crowd of 7,500 visited the Jellicoe Road track for a family fun day on August 30 - the highest at the course for seven years, while the total number of visitors for the 10 race meetings in July and August was 33,000, up by 3,500 on the same period last year.

Celebrating the success, racecourse general manager Glenn Tubby believed the increase was due to more holidaymakers choosing to stay at home in the UK this summer rather than going abroad.

He said: “Undoubtedly, the course has benefited from the influx of visitors to Yarmouth this year. With more people holidaying in the UK than abroad, with the increased marketing that has been going on and with more people in the town we have had more people coming to visit the racecourse.”

He added events held at the racecourse had contributed to this year's success, including the family fun days and gig nights which this summer have included the tribute bands Fake That, Ultimate Madness and So Blondie.

Mr Tubby said: “There has been a decline in racing visitors to Yarmouth, but that decline has reversed and things have started to pick up again.

“We have got five more race fixtures left this summer. Next year's another year and we will have to wait and see, it will depend on where people want to go on holiday. Will trend of people going on holiday in the UK continue?”