Greetings from Torbay winged their way through the airwaves all round the world at the weekend. The first English Riviera Global Geopark radio event has been hailed a huge success with some 300 to 400 people taking part.

Amateur radio operators transmitted live from outside Kents Cavern in Torquay over the two days at the start of this week's English Riviera Geopark Festival.

They made contact with around 500 radio hams, several from other geoparks, including Lesvos Island in Greece and the Copper Coast in Ireland.

Radio enthusiast Martin Foster, who organised the event, said: "I was astounded at how well it went. There was a great sense of camaraderie and everyone was ready and willing to help out.

"We had a lot of young people who we able to send greetings to the geopark in Southern Ireland. Hopefully this could inspire them to become the technicians or technologists of the future."

Martin explained there is still the same excitement in making contact with unknown people around the world, whether using old fashioned make-it-yourself radio technology or up-to-the-minute digital equipment and computers.

Torbay is celebrating its admission into the European and Global Geopark Network as one of only six Geoparks in the UK and just 53 around the world, with a series of events this week. Events are also running across all the other 33 Geoparks in Europe in a bid to raise the profile of the UNESCO Geopark Network.

Nick Powe, chairman of the English Riviera Geopark Organisation, said: "This is our first opportunity to really bring the Geopark to life for the people of the English Riviera. The events will bring together all the aspects that make our Geopark so special from art, culture, literature and heritage and, of course, geology