Epsom book fair broke its own fundraising record during a bumper three-day run last week.

The renowned regional book fair was held at Epsom Methodist Church February 21-February 23 last month, and raised over £41,000 for a variety of causes, smashing last year's total of £37,688.

The fair is known for the diligence around 200 volunteers involved take in sourcing the thousands of books on offer during the event.

This year, such treasures as a rare 2nd edition Animal Farm (George Orwell, 1945) helped attract thousands of Epsom and Ewell residents and bibliophiles from further afield alike to the church in large numbers.

Speaking to the Surrey Comet during the event, one of the chief organisers, Ms Jacqui Raggett said: "Our many thousands of customers had a great time browsing and buying the thousands of books on offer and enjoying the delicious food and drinks on offer in our Roots café.

"We are fortunate in having a large team of skilled and enthusiastic volunteers who worked incredibly hard to get things ready on time."

Unseasonably good weather and the hype generated by the success of previous editions of the fair helped maintain a packed venue at Epsom Methodist Church, with attendees waiting in queues that stretched well beyond the church itself to get inside — among them Epsom and Ewell Mayor, Councillor Neil Dallen.

Commenting on the success of the fair, Ms Raggett said that it transcended the material on offer.

Ms Raggett said: "It's not really about books at all, it's about people because the range of volunteers and the skills they can bring is really quite something, we're nearly 200 volunteers in total.

"There's nothing else like us in all of England and Wales. The dealers come and find treasures we've found before they've spotted them and we think we do quite a good job on sourcing. We source very carefully...we sold the 2nd edition Animal Farm for £100. Over the years we have sold a series of books worth up to £500 and over..."

Organisers of this year's event said that the proceeds from the fair would be shared between Action for Children, the Rainbow Trust, Hope4Malawi, The Epsom Food Bank, Epsom PHAB, the Garden Route Children’s Trust, Epsom Division Guides for their Little Acres Lodge Fund, 7th Epsom Scouts and the work of Epsom Methodist Church.