NEITHER fire nor rain could stop yet another dazzling Carnival procession on the streets of North Petherton yesterday.

Crowds gathered on streets and residential walls to watch the colourful entrants make their way through the town, putting on a spectacular show.

The procession was held up briefly when a float caught fire towards the end and a fire engine was guided by police officers on patrol, who cleared the road.

North Petherton’s own Pentathlon CC wowed with their At The Bottom of the Garden, and they walked away with the local tableau cup.

Huckyduck CC scooped the open tableau category with their Spirit of the Blitz, while the Gremilins CC took the open feature. And Bridgwater’s Marina Sydenham JCC won the Juvenile tableau.

And Toppers CC were back on track after receiving a new generator. An earlier mix-up with generators had put them over the weight limit required by police regulations during Bridgwater’s Carnival.

North Petherton Carnival president Eileen Brunton said the weather hadn’t stopped the event being a stunning |success.

She said: “The Carnival went really well. There was a slight delay at the start and then we were held up when a cart caught fire – but everything else went smoothly. And apart from a brief heavy shower, the weather was lovely.

“I loved the floats and there were some brilliant ones. One of my favourites was Huckyduck’s Spirit of the Blitz, but that’s probably only because of the history. The standard of floats was up and they did very well.