Delight as Chard carnival returns after Covid break

Harlequin Carnival Club chose a rock and roll theme for their entry

Crowds enjoyed illuminated floats and colourful costumes as a popular town carnival made its return after being scaled back due to the pandemic.

Mayor of Chard Jason Baker said it was "absolutely fantastic" to have the Somerset town's carnival back.

He said the event on Saturday evening was a boost to lots of clubs who had suffered during the pandemic.

"We've had a really good day and lots of people have come out keen to get back involved with carnival," he said.

A&A Carnival Club's Rex the dinosaur was one of the highlights of the parade

Chard Carnival has been running for 54 years but the pandemic meant that in 2020 a scaled-back exhibition was held, rather than the traditional parades.

Mr Baker, who is also carnival chairman, said he was glad to return to the regular format.

The event has been running for 54 years and raises money for local charities and organisations

"The thought to start with was we would have a really small parade but everyone was so keen to get involved it just developed as the weeks went on," Mr Baker said.

"It would have been really easy not to have done it but were aware that clubs are really struggling at the moment and we need to make them more visible to get more members for them," he added.

Colourful characters returned to the streets of Chard on Saturday evening

The day began with a street fair with visitors able to enjoy live music and food stalls before the evening's main event.

Nigel Phillips of the A&A Carnival Club said he had been "ready for this for a year-and-a-half".

Crowds came out in their numbers to enjoy the event