Hebden Bridge pumpkin festival: Crowds carve a path despite rain

Going swimmingly: It was flipping wet, but that didn't appear to put people off coming to Hebden Bridge

Rainy weather didn't stop crowds coming along to carve a path along a town's annual pumpkin trail.

Despite recent downpours, fans of the Halloween favourite flocked to Hebden Bridge to glimpse the assortment of quirky characters scattered throughout the West Yorkshire town.

Organisers, who had promised this year's Great Pumpkin Festival would be "bigger and better than before", said turnout had been "fantastic".

It is the third time the event, organised in conjunction with Hebden Royd Town Council, has been held.

Some of the carvings, such as this ET-inspired effort, were out of this world. Professional pumpkin carvers Sand in Your Eye helped to create the quirky designs

Hand of gourd? Photographer Craig Shaw said: "It was a bit of a mudfest" at times but attendees "were a hardy bunch". This youngster came well-prepared in wellies and waterproofs

Didn't get the memo: Families and their pets were undeterred by the wet conditions - although this pooch in a pumpkin outfit didn't look too happy about making an unwitting fashion faux-paw

Hand car squash: The imaginative creations popped up all over the Yorkshire market town

There were also pumpkin carving classes on offer, while storyteller Ursula Holden-Gill enchanted the crowds

While the pesky pumpkins continued to get up to no good