“WE'VE not had that many people in the town since the 60's”, says Bridgwater Carnival president Pete Bastin after Saturday's big event.

He attributed the enormous success of this year's Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival to the decision to move it from a Friday to a Saturday, an increased advertising campaign and an extremely high standard of entries.

“I think the quality of the carts this year was top notch and even better than last year,” said Pete. “People who have been previous years also commented on how many extra crowds came this year.

“I think the TV advert and funding from Arts Council England really helped and there were people from as far as Belgium, New Zealand and Canada.”

He added that he was pleased the event was so successful and had such a good atmosphere, especially after last year's tragedy on the M5 and the river wall collapse.

“I saw people had laid flowers by the Guy Fawkes Carnival statue as a mark of respect, which I thought was really touching.”

Pete will be handing over his role to the committee's first female president, Rita Jones, next year.