LIVE music, stalls, a bouncy castle and ice creams were all part of the fun of the fair at Cliff Lane in Ipswich.

LIVE music, stalls, a bouncy castle and ice creams were all part of the fun of the fair at Cliff Lane in Ipswich.

Hundreds of people turned out for a community street fair yesterday , organised by police community support officers Julie Hinton and Charlotte Williams, Liz Harsant leader of Ipswich Council who lives in the area, and butcher George Debman.

The event was aimed at bringing people together and raising money for local charities.

These include The Evening Star's Have a Heart Appeal, which aims to keep specialist heart treatment at Ipswich Hospital rather than transfer some patients miles away.

PCSO Hinton said: “Basically today is a coming together to bond the community, young and old, and to try to bring that community spirit.

“Everyone's here with ice creams and the sun is shining. It's a really good family afternoon out.”

She also particularly wanted to say a word of thanks to Kelsey Nicol after he stepped in to help out with the public announcement system.

Mrs Hinton said among the other main charities to benefit from all the stalls and activities were the East Anglian Children's Hospices (EACH) and the air ambulance.

Mrs Hinton suggested the Have a Heart appeal benefit from the fair because she had personal reason to be grateful that Ipswich Hospital could offer top quality treatment for heart attacks.

Mrs Hinton said: “I'm very, very supportive of the campaign. My husband had a heart attack just over a year ago and was taken to Ipswich. The way I felt, it was bad enough driving behind the ambulance in the middle of the night.

“I would have been terrified if I wouldn't have known where I was going. We are a growing area. Why are they taking things away?