THE 2000 St Helens Show has been hailed as the most popular one yet with record crowds piling through the gates.

A spokeswoman for St Helens Council told the Star: "This year's show went very well and other than a couple of arrests and minor skirmishes, there was no trouble which was very pleasing.

"We were also delighted with the number of people who attended this year's event. We achieved our aim of beating last year's figures of 400,000 visitors and are hoping to have topped the half-a-million mark."

The only major incident of the weekend was at about 5pm on Saturday, July 29 when a man who was part of a high-wire walking act performing at the show's Main Arena, fell from the wire between 20 and 30 feet and missed the safety net. Paramedics already based near the arena were on the scene in less than a minute and the 45-year-old man was taken to Whiston Hospital after suffering a fractured pelvis.

St Helens Council's Environmental Health and Safety department are now investigating the incident.