THOUSANDS of people enjoyed all the fun of the fair at Verwood Carnival on the bank holiday weekend.

The three-day event kicked off on Friday and culminated in a colourful procession on Monday.

Hundreds lined the streets of the village for a lengthy procession and there were queues to get into the carnival field off Crane Drive.

As well as fun fair rides provided by William Cole and Sons, visitors were entertained by the XTREME Stunt Team who showed off their skills on a BMX and motorbike.

On Saturday people were invited to test their own BMX skills with a workshop led by Ben Savage, who was the main attraction at last year’s carnival.

There were flying displays from birds of prey from Liberty’s Owl, Raptor and Reptile centre, and youngsters were then invited to take part in a big tug of war led by the BRS Coaching Academy.

Shelley Morris, chairman of the carnival committee, who received a special commendation prize earlier this year from the council for her work revitalising the carnival, said the turnout at this year’s event was double last year’s.

“Last year was manic and a very hot day. I’d say we’ve had about twice as many this year, around 5,000,” she said.

“This is the 90th year of Verwood Carnival and my second as chairman. We’ve been building the procession over the last five years after it died out a bit. I grew up here and it was always like this when we were younger. It used to be in the rec, then it faded away. But it’s brilliant now.

“This is the first year we’ve built the carnival back up to a full fair and a full procession with lorries and everything.

“We had the procession for an hour before our two main events – the BMX stunt team and Creature Feature gorillas.

“The community love the carnival. It’s worth every minute when you see everyone enjoying themselves.”

Some of the proceeds from the event will go to local charities. Last year saw around £1,600 raised for charity.

The procession left the carnival field at midday and made it s way down Station Road, then Vicarage Road and Church Hill, and along Dewlands Way and Dewlands Road.