THERE was a record number of people watching the parade of Ross Carnival at the weekend.

The 40th anniversary celebrations in the market town were bigger than ever before.

Publicity officer, Andrew Buffrey, said: "It was fantastic. Obviously the weather was luckily kind to us. We almost got the storms that Hereford and Gloucester got. It is just one of those things.

"We were worried sick about that but we only had a couple of showers. The rest of the day was brilliant.

"We had a record amount of crowds in the street. The parade was bigger than normal- there were 25 entrants in the parade. There were 50 stalls on the field."

The procession of floats through the town started from the Ashburton Estate and made its way to the carnival field at The Ropewalk.

At the carnival field there was a fun fair, stalls and a range of food and drink.

Mr Buffrey said the free parking in the council-owned car parks really helped as people did not have to worry about rushing back to their cars.

The free parking was sponsored by Parrys Estate Agents, Peter Hickman Hairdressing and Westons Cider.

Mr Buffrey said there were some surprises in the parade, including Frightmare from Over Farm Markets in Gloucester, which saw zombies heading into the crowds.

Mark Reeves, an ex-engineer from the Morgan Motor Company, recreated an historic exhibit of the carnival- a float depicting a white elephant and a model of Ross Market House.

The float was pulled along with help from his mother Jean Reeves and her brother Rob Barker. The family were also joined by Joanne Wallace, Becci Cooper, Norma Blake and Hospice Angel Mike Pullin.

The fancy dressed ensemble have donated their prize money to St Michael's, and along with donations from carnival goers and the sale of bric-a-brac they raised a total of £700 for St Michael's Hospice.

Ross-on-Wye-based REHAU was a main sponsor of the carnival.