Tousands of families flocked to Under One Sky to enjoy a range of activities in the name of community cohesion.

The festival, the borough's largest, was blessed with sunshine the whole afternoon, helping to make the central hour-long parade a huge success.

Crowds whooped and clapped the procession of school-made costumes, a Chinese dancing dragon, a samba percussion band, morris dancers and bagpipers as they wound their way around Kodak Sports Ground in Harrow View.

But that was just one part of a whole day in which visitors could enjoy a funfair, a craft market, a climbing wall, information stalls, a dance tent, global cuisine, sports activities, and a live music stage featuring a range of styles from Indian drumming to R'n'B sensation Jay Sean.

The emergency services were on hand to provide information and recruitment advice, while Gig In The Park, a gig organised by young people from Nower Hill High School to promote the on-going 'Love Music, Hate Violence' anti-youth crime campaign, proved a massive hit.

Councillor Chris Mote (Conservative), portfolio holder for community and cultural services, said: "This year's Under One Sky festival had the best turnout yet and it was great to see people of all ages enjoying the day.

"The range and quality of entertainment on offer was spectacular and I thought the Gig in the Park performances were especially brilliant this year.

"I would like to thank the many volunteers for all of their hard work on the day and we look forward to making Under One Sky even bigger and better next year."