POOR weather failed to put a dampener on a picnic to promote the family.

Home-Start Epping Forest celebrated Family Support Week by inviting all the people they’d helped in the past to join them for a mass picnic.

The event was also held in tandem with similar ones across the nation as part of a Guinness World Record attempt to hold the largest simultaneous picnic.

Rain on the day, forced the picnic inside for Home-Start, which provides social support for vulnerable families with children under five, but thanks to the generous use of the Family Centre, in Lawton Road, Loughton, the fun continued.

Home-Start senior organiser Pat Farrington said: “We wanted to show the importance of family life. We had to go inside but it was still very enjoyable. The children still seemed to like it and they had a bouncy castle. The council were there and the fire brigade.

“Many thanks to all the partners in our local community that have participated in this event.”