Flood carnivals attract record crowds

The organisers of both Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade and Mytholmroyd Gala have thanked the public for their "massive show of support''. The events went ahead just one week on from the devastating floods which hit both communities.

Almost 700 people took part in the Handmade Parade, with several thousand more lining the route to enjoy giant puppets, a riot of colour and toe-tapping music. The event was postponed from last week whilst a huge clear-up campaign got underway.

Artistic Director Andrew Kim said:" The energy down the street was amazing!"

"We are honoured and thrilled that we can bring so much joy to the streets a week after the flooding. Thank you to everyone who stuck with us, rearrangted schedules and danced the sun back to Hebden."

And it was a similar story down the road in Mytholmroyd, where the annual gala went ahead as scheduled, despite many businesses in the village remaining shut and still counting the cost of last Friday's deluge.

Gala chair Barry Greenwood said:"It was a spectacular event this year, we had more stalls than usual, more people in the procession and more people turning out to support us. "

Around £800 was raised between the two events just from collections alone.