Racegoers arrive at Aintree for the first day of the Grand National Festival

Granada Reports' Chris Hall was live at Aintree on day one of the Grand National Festival

Thousands of people have been through the gates at Aintree on day one of the world-famous Grand National Festival.

Around 150,000 people are expected at the racecourse over the three day event.

And at 4.00pm on Saturday 13 April an estimated 800 million people all over the world will stop what they are doing to watch the highlight of the racing calendar, the Grand National.

On Thursday, some racegoers had to face their own hurdle of travel disruption as there were cancellations on several Merseyrail lines due to engineering works and a broken down train.

The first race, the Close Brothers Manifesto Novices' Chase began at 1.45pm, with the last, the Goffs Nickel Coin Mares' Standard Open NH Flat Race concluding at 5.15pm.

Here are some pictures of racegoers arriving at Aintree.

Merseyside Police have thanked people who attended the first day of this year’s Grand National Festival.

A huge security operation is in place, with police confirming there were no arrests.

Superintendent Matthew Moscrop said: "Today marked the start of this year’s festival and it was great to see everyone enjoying themselves responsibly.

"I would like to thank everyone who attended for making it a successful first day and a really good atmosphere.

"We are expecting many more racegoers to attend Ladies Day tomorrow, so I would like to remind people attending to give yourself extra time to get to the course and enjoy your day.

"My officers will be in and around the course and I would encourage everyone to speak to them if they have any concerns or issues."

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