THINGS certainly took off at Westbury as its annual carnival enjoyed the best turn out and weather on Sunday (August 1) – raising £10,000 in the process.

Some 3,000 people came along to enjoy the day which was based on a flight theme. The winners of the best float, Amanda and Malcolm Ward, from Cleeve Farm at Rodley, and their four children and grandchildren created an amazing model of Concorde pulled by a lawn mower and a fleet of Red Arrows which won them a £50 cash prize. The winners of best walking entry, Westbury-on-Severn Mother and Toddler Group, won £25 with their entries including Harry Hyett in a plane, Edward Barry in a plane as well as Archie the bumble bee and Daisy Sterry as a winged fairy.

The second prize of £15 went to Westbury-on-Severn Church of England Primary School which created Coconut Airways complete with coconuts, children in Caribbean costumes and pilots and an air stewardess. Riley and Lilly Wood of Ivydene, Westbury, won the third prize of £10 when Riley turned his cycle into a flying machine and his sister was pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart.

This year's special prize of £5 went to Chris Thorne and his mum, Angela Cruse, of Westbury, who re-enacted Wallace and Gromit in a flying motorcycle with sidecar.

The lucky winner of a helicopter flight was Stevee Merchant who invited her friend Claire Daly to enjoy the glorious surrounding sights.

Carnival chairman, Joe Liddington who is stepping down from his role after seven years, said: "It was such a beautiful day and the weather was perfect. I thought last year was good but this year surpassed it. I really feel like I have finished on a high and it's ironic that flight was the theme.

"The amount of money we raised is absolutely fantastic, the bar alone raised around £3,000 and all the profits will go towards the maintenance of the village hall which at present is undergoing extensive renovation.

"For the past seven years I have always to wanted to get a Ferris wheel come to the show as where we are is a visual place and in my last year I finally got my wish. Many people took advantage of seeing the surrounding sights in the wheel. I want to say a massive thank you to everybody who has contributed and supported the show in the past seven years as well as my fantastic committee members. I am still going to be on the committee but I feel it's time to take a step back and let somebody else take control. We haven't got anybody lined up but will discuss it soon and they will have the full support of the carnival committee."

•The total raised by this year's Aylburton Carnival is more than £800. We have been asked to point out the money goes to projects around the village and not just the village hall as stated in the Review.