The organiser of the Cornbury Festival has vowed the event will continue - and could be run in future with the help of a major commercial backer.

The west Oxfordshire weekend festival, which finished last night, attracts music lovers from around the country to Cornbury Park, near Charlbury.

Wet weather hit attendance at this year's event, with downpours leading to a lower than expected number of so-called walk-up' same-day ticket buyers.

However, with 14,000 joining the party on Saturday, and 13,000 on Sunday, attendance was still higher than last year, and the event has been hailed a success by organiser Hugh Phillimore.

Saturday's attractions included sets by Paul Simon, reggae legends Toots & the Maytals, punk icon Mick Jones's band Carbon Silicon, '80s pop act The Bangles, and soul singer Beverley Knight.

Sunday, meanwhile, saw music lovers dancing in the rain to singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, '70s band 10CC and American country singer Tift Merritt.

The finale saw New Zealanders Crowded House leading drenched fans in a mass sing-along to their appropriately titled hits Four Seasons in One Day and Weather with You.

It is the fifth year the annual event has failed to make a profit but, such is its reputation as a high-quality festival, that some of the biggest names in the industry have made offers of partnership to Mr Phillimore's Cornbury Festival Ltd.

Such a deal would secure the festival for the foreseeable future.

But Mr Phillimore said the festival's role as a friendly, relaxed community event, which raises money for local good causes, would not be lost.

He said: "We have had eight offers of partnership, so I will be looking at them all very closely.

"My job is to pick the people who are going to respect the Cornbury brand and not mess with it.

"Cornbury is a successful brand. It just needs a bigger sponsor and more people to come along. We haven't broken even again, but are close. And we are definitely here to stay. This year's festival was soggy, but fun. Everyone was pretty happy, so I'm thrilled with how it's gone.

"The crowd did us proud. I was hugely impressed with how people stayed with it, and sang and danced through to the very end.

"I booked all the acts for a reason, and it all held together. They were all good in different ways."

Talking about the rain, he said: "Cornbury is turning into more of a real' festival, and this is what people expect from a festival. We are Oxfordshire's Glastonbury - with weather to match! But there was a great vibe."

Many of those leaving the site on Sunday vowed to come back next year - whatever the weather. Among them was Holly Reading, from East Oxford, who said: "It was a really good festival.

"Saturday night was brilliant - especially Paul Simon. It's great he played so many of his hits."

Victoria Frazer-Smith, from Jericho, Oxford, added: "The weather was awful, but we still really enjoyed ourselves."