THE seafront came alive with a riot of colour and music as families flocked to see Southend Carnival's procession roll into town.

Despite strong blustery winds and the threat of rain, at least 20,000 people lined the promenade to watch 70 decorated vehicles carry a diverse mix of charities, businesses and community organisations from Southchurch Park, to Westcliff, on Saturday.

The winner of the best float from a charitable organisation with a more than £10,000 turnover a year was handed to the Art of the Village, partnered with Havens Hospice, who decorated their vehicle like a crooked house.

Other winners included Southend Scout and Guide Gang Show who travelled in vintage Minis and the JKS Group for a pink lorry supporting breast cancer awareness.

As well as a panel of judges, the carnival association opted to let members of the public decide a winning float by posting the top four choices on Facebook.

Votes can be cast until 8pm on Monday.

Controversially, this year's carnival was the first in about 90 years which was not led by a carnival court or carnival queen following an extensive discussion by trustees.

Organisers Southend SummerCare say they made the decision after looking at online polls, questionnaires, independent workshops and asking young people for their thoughts.

Gemma Cartwright, carnival vice chairman, said: “We are really pleased with this year's carnival, it went fantastically well.

"It was incredibly windy and threatened rain all day, but when the wind died down it was really warm and it didn't rain in the end.

"It was great to see that so many people came out and supported us despite the weather.

"The Bournemouth Carnival Band started the procession - they marched along all dressed as Spiderman and then stopped and did a little dance.

"It was great fun because they are a bunch of middle-aged men who are not at the height of their figures. The crowd loved it.

"We also had 20 veterans from the SSAFA armed forces charity and they were waving right until the end.

"Rossi Ice Cream took over the carnival court float and we had the Rossi bear as carnival king.

"I would like to thank all the volunteers and entrants who despite the weather made their best effort to enter over 70 entries.

"In terms of the number of entries, it was the biggest procession we have ever had."

Samba drumming from BrazilArte Academy, based in Kensington Road, also enthralled the crowds with their extravagant costumes and performances.

Batons flew through the air as three different majorette groups from across Essex performed, followed by an army of storm troopers as Southend Council decorated a float in a Star Wars theme.

This year’s carnival was again supported by SummerCare, a Southend-based provider of supported living and residential care services for adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems, physical and sensory impairments.

The group hosted an accessible viewing area on the seafront for people with disabilities, which was attended by about 150 people.

Other sponsors included MWS Chartered Accountants, VIP Security Services, Genting Club, Gleneagles Guesthouse, Radio Essex, Rossi Ice Cream, Heart Radio, Swan Creative and Green Light Print Solutions.

This year’s carnival procession entries raised money for charities of their choice and their own charitable organisations, which included Havens Hospice, Cancer Research UK and the Southend RNLI.