IT was that time of year again when Andover’s largest event took place in the centre of town.

Thousand of residents turned out for Andover Carnival on Sunday 17 July.

Run by volunteers who hope to evoke community spirit, crowds enjoyed watching the annual procession of floats and community groups as well as the carnival’s prince and princess.

The event also had a special guest, Faith Sharpe, who was given her very own sash to wear for the day by the committee.

Chair of the carnival committee, Mike Hall, said: “It was an amazing day and the weather was brilliant.

They all put an amazing effort in and it went fantastic. “And I think everyone who went enjoyed themselves.

“It would be nice if more businesses took part next year. We raised so much for charity.

“We’d like to thank everyone who attended the procession and the park and to all those who took part.

“We all worked extremely hard this year, there are only 12 of us on the committee.”

The two chosen charities this year are Challengers and Andover Talking Newspapers.

Challengers support over 1,400 disabled children and young people with vital play and leisure opportunities at Challengers schemes across the South East.

Andover Talking Newspapers serve blind and visually impaired folk in Test Valley by distributing weekly memory sticks containing news from the Andover Advertiser and other local news outlets.

The money raised on the day will be split evenly between the two charities.

The whole event was mainly sponsored by Lloyds Banking Group and Simplyhealth with David Mellor Jewellers and Ocado as ruby sponsors