CHRISTCHURCH Carnival returned at the weekend to Christchurch Quay.

Hundreds gathered to watch the main event of the two-day event, Sunday's procession, which included the mayor, town crier, a Spiderman Band, pirates and a host of other floats.

Along with the parade there were a series of displays and fun activities on the quay, as well as music, events, and a funfair. Christchurch Carnival is an annual event to raise money for local charities.

The event has been cancelled for the last two years due to Covid but organisers were keen to get it back up and running this year.

Organiser Tony Stivala said: “We’ve got quite a few groups coming, we’re hoping to have 15 to 20 walking floats rather than the big floats.

"A lot of them have turned up already, considering the weather is really hot we were a bit worried that people wouldn't make the effort but they seem to all be coming.

"We should have a variation in cars, to brownies, dance groups, some pirates and some little racing cars, so hopefully that's enough for everyone to be entertained with on the street.

“This is the first time we've done it since lock down, we've had a little bit of a struggle getting people interacting with it but were hoping after they see this, next year we can make it bigger and better because we’ve been going 100 years and it would be a shame to fall on the wayside like a lot of them have, so our little committee are really trying to keep it going as best we can.”

Mark Hetherington was with Bournemouth Carnival Band, dressed in Spiderman costumes. He said: “We loved it, we always do, this is the first time since 2019 because of the pandemic but we usually do it every year, people are always laughing and cheering.

"It's our 40th anniversary this year, we practice in Southbourne every Thursday night and we do carnivals all over. There’s about 35-40 of us at the moment and we are always looking for new members.”