BRIGHT bank holiday sunshine helped to draw the crowds to Pershore Carnival on Monday.

As well as the procession through the middle of town, the event also included a farmers market, craft fair, funfair, radio road show, dog show and fire station open day.

Organiser Dave Shaw said he was pleased with the amount of people who turned out for the annual day of fun, which had the theme Vision of the Future.

"I couldn't put a number on it but there were lots of people lining the streets to watch the procession and it was great to see so many people enjoying themselves on Abbey Park after," he said. "It was also good to see so many visitors using the free bus link from the train station and Pinvin."

Despite the futuristic theme of the event the fancy dress parade was led by a 14-ton steam roller, The Major.

Also taking part were the Malvern Lynx marching band, Worcester and Evesham Sea Cadets, members of the local branch of the Royal Naval Association and children from the town's schools. Some of the youngsters showed off their skills by completing the parade on unicycles and skateboards.

Some of the most colourful participants were designers from Toozalii, a group that makes costumes for events such as London's Notting Hill Carnival.

Money raised for various good causes is still being counted but volunteers staffing charity stalls on the day reported brisk trade throughout the event.