With an eclectic mix of entertainment, hoards of people gathered to watch the Newton Abbot Festival at the weekend.

As well as the music and street entertainers in the town centre, there were also demonstrations and a French market.

Well known local bands performed alongside DJs, choirs, brass bands and solo acts.

'The town was buzzing during the day on Friday and Saturday,' said Sally Henley, Newton Abbot town centre manager.

'On the Friday youngsters from Wolborough Primary School performed a maypole dance, which in turn brought a lot of parents into the town.

'We had our own Captain Jack Sparrow, from Pirates of the Caribbean, which everyone loved, along with Dan the Magic Man and stilt walkers. I've had lots of comments saying how good the street acts were.'

Sally continued: 'We'd have liked the weather to be a little bit warmer as that might have brought more people out in the evenings.'

On the last day, Sunday, there was more traditional music at the clock tower and it formed an intimate setting for the brass bands, chorus, opera and orchestra which entertained shoppers.

Sally said the festival, now in its third year, was enjoyed by all.'It is a lot of hard work to put something like this on and we are lucky we have a proactive council, as the town councillors played a huge role in the preparations,' she said.