THE countdown to the County Cheshire Show has begun and this year the two-day event looks set to break all previous records for competition entries.

Organisers of the 166-year-old show have described the 'tremendous thrill' at seeing final preparations for the major countryside event get under way.

More than 3,500 horses are taking part in the event, making it the largest light horse section in the country and entries for the cattle event have peaked for the first time since foot and mouth disease devastated the farming industry.

John Platt, chairman of Cheshire Agricultural Society, hopes 2004 will be a chance to bounce back from the effects of foot and mouth that have overshadowed the event in recent years.

He said: "There is a tremendous buoyancy about the event this year and it has been a very exciting time.

"This year is the right time to put the doom and gloom of foot and mouth firmly behind us."

As well as the competition classes for all manner of livestock, the event will feature flower demonstrations, a Food Live cookery theatre, vintage machinery, antiques and shoppers' mews.

And for the first time in the show's history all 600 stalls for the event have been snapped up weeks ahead of the show, offering visitors a wider choice than in any other year.

Show secretary David Broster said: "It is so vast there's too much to mention but there really is something for everyone."

He added: "The county show is a celebration of our rural heritage and of today's diversification within the rural community."

This year's show takes place next Tuesday, June 22 and Wednesday, June 23 and more than 10,000 people are expected to visit the 230-acre site at Tabley.

Tickets are available at most information centres and are priced £12 for adults, £9 senior citizens and £5 for children under 16.

To buy tickets, call 01829 760020 or 01244 351609.

gsproston@guardiangrp.co.uk