Brollies and ponchos the order of the day at soggy Newport Carnival - with pictures

Torrential downpours left visitors fearing a washout, but the community turned out in force to back the event.

There were around 12 carnival floats featuring youngsters dressed up in an array of wacky fancy dress outfits, including superheroes, robots and princesses.

Among them were pupils from Newport Junior School, Newport Infants School, St Peter's Primary, Tiggy's Nursery, Forton Nursery and Moorfield Primary.

Some youngsters had to wear plastic ponchos over their outfits to try and stay dry as they shivered while the rain was beating down. But they were all smiles for the procession, with proud parents and members of the public cheering and waving as the floats made their way from Shuker Fields to the High Street.

Activities in the High Street started at 10am and, although things started slowly with grey skies looming above and rain drenching the hardy souls setting everything up, plenty of people turned out later on to enjoy what was on offer.

There was an open mic music tent at one end of the street where various local acts got up and did a turn, while at the other end there was a stage where youngsters from local schools showed off their singing and dancing talents, proving popular and winning hearty cheers and applause.

There were also stalls lining the street with local vendors selling their wares, including food, drinks and souvenirs.

Lorelle Page, from Newport, took her two children Ellie, four, and Alfie, two, who remained in good spirits despite the weather. She said: "We were really looking forward to it, so it's a shame it's been such bad weather, but we've had a good time anyway. The kids on the floats looked a bit cold, bless them. It would have been better and more people would have turned up if the sun was out."

Sara Bell, another Newport resident, was impressed with the turn out despite the weather. She said: "I can't believe so many people have come out. The rain has just got worse, but more people have appeared since the carnival started. It'll take more than a bit of rain to stop our fun."

This was the third year the carnival was in the High Street, having previously been staged just in Shuker Fields.

Carnival chairman Graham Foster said: "Despite the weather, the procession was brilliant. All of the schools were there, not one of them backed out.

"There were more floats than last year.

"The weather was at its worst just as the procession started. The children were still smiling on the floats and that is really to be commended. They were brilliant and they really just wanted to be part of it.

"The traders who came from out of town didn't really benefit, which was a shame. But everyone was still smiling.

"A lot of people from Newport came which is great considering the weather. Last year we had blazing hot sunshine so we've gone from one extreme to the other.

"We'll be back next year, and hopefully the weather will be a bit better."