Wem Carnival brings crowds despite rain

Wem Carnival took over the roads on Saturday with floats parading through the town featuring pirate ships, drummers and dancers.

The event saw hundreds of people line the streets of the town twice during the day for a daytime procession at 1.30pm and an evening parade at 7.45pm.

Carl Jones, a member of Wem Carnival organising committee, said: "It has gone really well, we have had a good turn out, especially considering the weather.

"It was a bit of a let down in the morning with such bad rain, as we had to postpone some things. But we have tried to stick as close to the programme as possible.

"We have had all sorts of floats here this year, we had the Taiko drummers, they played on the float.

"We had a couple of floats that were themed to films, the Wem Young Farmers did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which was obviously very pertinent with the news this week.

"We also had a Star Wars float and an Only Fools and Horses float as well."

Last year's event saw thousands fill Wem with bright sunshine helping to attract crowds to the carnival.

But Mr Jones said he was pleased to see that while numbers had dropped slightly, heavy rain hadn't put too much of a damper on the day.

He said: "Everyone really pulled together today, and it really does fill the town.

"Considering the weather, it was quieter than last year but we are really happy with the turnout and it has been a really great day."

The parade included talented marching bands and dance troupes, but organisers said they stuck to having no theme this year so entrants could explore their creativity.

This year's carnival queen Holly Scane also made an appearance on the carnival queen float.

She held the crowd's attention alongside princesses Peta Griffin and Brooke Reynolds.