Shrewsbury Carnival - in pictures

Shrewsbury was transformed into a colourful playground when the resurrection of a popular sporting and cultural event coincided with the town's annual carnival.

Thousands of revellers braved the high winds and rainy spells to enjoy the themed floats, walking groups, marching bands and dancers parading around the town centre streets on Saturday.

The town centre was closed to traffic as the parade made its way from the Quarry, through the town centre and back to the Quarry. The parade was made up of groups and organisations and was given a Victorian theme this year.

A myriad of events kept crowds entertained throughout the three-day Shropshire Olympian Festival in the Quarry, which was held on Friday, Saturday and yesterday.

Andrew Bannerman, festival artistic director, said the weekend's celebrations had been a "great" success generating much excitement.

He said: "The spirit has been tremendous. We were terribly lucky with the weather and the only problems we had were with the blustery winds.

"We expect about 5,000 people to have come through the gates over the three days and there have been some fantastic efforts with people joining the Victorian theme."

MPs Daniel Kawczynski and Philip Dunne presided over the opening ceremony, which took place on Friday, before a mass synchronised Victorian PE drill took place involving county schools.

Former Olympic athlete David Moorcroft also joined activities and presented medals.

The Olympian festival was recreated for the first time in nearly 150 years to celebrate the county's connection with the modern day Olympic Games.

On Saturday, people took part in a host of activities including eight-legged racing, pig catching and canon ball throwing in the team challenge.

Yesterday's entertainment included a "Great Victorian Picnic", games and races and a 'massed choir' sing-a-long.

Brass bands, maypole dancing, penny farthing bicycle and equestrian displays also added to the atmosphere.

Mr Bannerman said the festival had taken more than a year to organise and thanked everyone who had helped make it a success.