Carnival capers in Diss may seem a relatively new thing after a summer procession was brought back to the town in 2008.

However, a trawl through the Mercury archives show that Diss Carnival has a long history with townsfolk dressing up for fun and charity as far back as the 1960s.

With just over a month to go before this year's celebrations, these old images show the parade and festivities from 1963 to the mid-1990s.

Judging from these archive pictures, the parade adopted a similar route to the one that was restarted by a group of volunteers five years ago.

Our old photographs also show the days when Diss staged a raft race as part of the carnival celebrations. However blue-green algae prevent similar water based activities taking place on Diss Mere.

This year's carnival will take place on Sunday, June 17 with a countries of the world theme.

Town entertainment will begin from midday with performances from the Hoxon Hundred Morris Dancers and the Monteray Line Dancers. The carnival parade is set to start from 1pm and will be led by the Glenmoriston Pipe Band.

As in previous years, the celebrations will conclude at the Diss Town Football Club ground in Brewers Green Lane with a family fun day from 2pm.

Anyone interested in volunteering and getting involved in this year's carnival can contact Horace Bunton on 01379 640032.