There was a party atmosphere in Lowestoft this afternoon as a carnival parade snaked its way through the town in front of thousands of people.

The full traditional parade made a welcome return to the town after three years and despite the rain a large crowd gathered at Station Square and other roads as a procession of colourful floats, people in fancy dress and bands travelled from Kirkley Park Road to Katwijk Way.

Among the eye-catching and slightly bizarre participants were a car dressed as the Magic Roundabout's Dougal, a witch on a mobility scooter, a mobile skip, a Grim Reaper and an army of super heroes, such as the Incredible Hulk and Catwoman.

There was also a strong sporting theme as Lowestoft's bronze medal Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo took part as well as 14 Olympic torchbearers from Suffolk and Norfolk and people dressed as sporting stars.

The parade, which had about 40 entries, also featured firefighters, the Waveney Allstars Cheerleaders, Lowestoft mayor Nick Webb, and Asda with trolleys full of balloons.

Today's fun event was organised as a fund-raiser by the Friends of Lowestoft Hospital and people along the route generously dug into their pockets to help fill donation buckets,

Pat Rayner, carnival chairman, said; 'The organisers are full of praise for the resilience of the crowd. The weather was disappointing but the spirit of the carnival shone through.'

Mrs Rayner also praised the quality of the floats and the efforts of all the entrants.

In 2010 the carnival parade was shortened and last year's one was cancelled.

There had been fears this year's parade would have to be cancelled because of rising costs linked to road closures and changes to traffic management rules governing street events.

But thankfully for the people of the town, it was saved thanks to the intervention of the Gwen Baker Trust, Waveney District councillor Tod Sullivan and the Lowestoft Civic Society.

The annual Lowestoft Hospital fete will be held on Saturday and there will be a special carnival charity auction night on October 25 at the Hotel Victoria.