HUNDREDS of people turned out to enjoy the finale of Otley's 2017 Science Festival.

This year's six-day event, the town's tenth, ended on Saturday, November 11 with an all-day Science Fair followed by an evening talk by space scientist Professor Monica Grady.

The fair, as always, saw Otley Courthouse packed with groups holding experiments and demonstrations while encouraging visitors of all ages to 'have a go'.

Everything from astronomy and robotics to brain surgery was covered, while the participating organisations included the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Owl Adventures and Chevin Forest School.

The day proved so popular that one of Otley Science Festival's founders, Dr Marty Jopson - of the BBC's The One Show fame - hailed it as the busiest-ever.

He said: "We had the most visitors ever to our tenth Science Fair.

"You could hardly move in the Courthouse for families having fun; it was packed out from start to finish.

"Thank you to all our great volunteers and for the people of Otley and beyond who came along and enjoyed the day."

Otley Town Council Chair Ray Georgeson, who enjoyed the fair with his wife, Angela and sons, John and Patrick, was among the visitors.

He said: "What a fantastic event it was, the boys really enjoyed it.

"There were very engaging presentations and lots of fun things for them to do.

"Congratulations to everyone involved in organising the day as it must have taken a lot of work.

"It is really appreciated."

One of the festival's organisers, Dr Sue Bowler, added: "We had a great time on Saturday with about 900 people coming through the doors of the Courthouse to try out everything from driving robots to 'brain surgery' - or even to look

through a giant periscope.

"We had volunteers from all sorts of science and technology groups across the region who brought their enthusiasm and equipment to Otley to entertain the visitors."

Prizes were also presented to the three winners of the Otley Molecule Trail challenge, which challenged people to spot and name models of chemical compounds that had been placed around town.