A decision to give children a day off school to go to the Royal Norfolk Show with their families has been hailed a success.

The holiday on Thursday was the first of a two-year pilot to ensure youngsters can make the most of the agricultural event while not missing important lessons.

In 2012, schools will once again have a holiday on the show's second day after which the council will decide whether it should continue.

Norfolk County Council deputy leader Ian Mackie said: 'The numbers of children attending proved that the show is a great family day out and suggests that the pilot holiday has been a big success.'

The high number of families on Thursday helped attendance numbers top 99,000 over the two days.

John Purling, chief executive of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association which organises the show, said: 'I think the holiday definitely brought more people to the show. It enabled more families to come and there were a lot more children around – so from that angle it worked very well.'

But the high attendance led to complaints about traffic problems for people trying to drive to the showground and park.

Mr Purling said spaces had been available at all times although some individual car parks did get full.

He said the RNAA was extremely sorry if drivers experienced problems. He added: 'We are taking the situation very seriously and we will be investigating from all angles precisely what went wrong and trying to put together a formula for improving things next year.'

*See Saturday's EDP for more reports and pictures from the show and a two-page spread of pictures from the event.