Thousands turned out to line the streets of Newmarket for the annual carnival on Saturday.

With a range of floats and local groups taking part, the highlight of the day was the parade from Tattersalls, down the High Street and on to The Severals.

The event was newly elected Newmarket town councillor Andy Drummond’s first as mayor, who described the support for the parade as “staggering”.

“The support lining the street for the parade was incredible,” he said. “I was overwhelmed by the number of people.

“It only rained for two minutes, so the weather was good as well. There were 12 floats from local community organisations and it was very hard to pick a winner.

“The Newmarket School of Irish Dance won in the end. The youngsters were incredibly talented. Paddocks came second and the Scouts came third.

“Me, Warwick Hirst and Carol Lynch had to score them out of 10 but it was very difficult – all of them were good.

“I would have to say there were certainly several thousand people there. It is a great community event.”

He added: “I was only elected a month ago so the carnival preparations were already well under way.

“All I had to do stick my arm out a car window and wave at the crowds. Seeing all the people watch the parade was staggering.”

After the parade several stalls and attractions were held at The Severals, with a beer tent providing momentary shelter during the short spell of rain.

The post-parade festivities also included the live music event NewFest.

Saturday’s event was the fifth since the carnival was moved from the racecourse.