Town 'mucks in' to celebrate community spirit after floods

Six months on from the devastating Boxing Day floods, the people of Hebden Bridge celebrated the community spirit which has seen their town brought back to life.

Filth of the aftermath
Valley was left caked in mud

The theme of this year's Handmade Parade was "Muck In', which aimed to capture the super human effort of both residents and volunteers from outside the area to rebuild the local community.

Ruined belongings
The beetles move in
Giant dung balls

More than 1,000 people took part in the parade with many more lining the streets to watch.

Creations, puppets and fancy dress costumes helped tell the story of how the town, which was left under several feet of water, managed to bring itself back to life.

Someone needs a bath
Town's ruined Christmas
Walking tall: Artistic Director Andrew Kim (left)
Residents able to laugh again
Queen Bee
Time for the insects to help in recovery operation
At last the sun shines .... wearing huge marigolds
Life is slowly returning

Many shops and businesses still remain closed and many people are still forced out of their homes - it's a similar story in the village of Mytholmroyd just down the road, which the day before celebrated an "Alternative Christmas" at its annual gala.

Mytholmroyd Gala Queen Natasha Burnside with her retinue