CROWDS lined the streets for the annual Lymington carnival as hundreds of costumed revellers made their way round the town.

Twenty groups decorated floats and danced to the sounds of local bands as the procession made its way from the Town Hall to a nearby fete.

But the parade got off to a difficult start as a BMW broke down metres from the starting line, leaving buses and trucks with only a couple of feet to squeeze past.

Organisers managed to get the procession off with less than a ten minute delay, though some floats had to maneuvre round the vehicle.

Despite the scorching heat, numbers were down by about 25 per cent on last year according to Lymington and Brockenhurst Lions’ President Ian Duncan.

He cited last minute insurance problems as an obstacle for many of the community groups who wanted to take part.

Mr Duncan said: “They only found out last week – they obvsiously assumed they would be covered and then at the last minute the insurance companies have told them they can’t get insurance.

"Something must have happened in the last year to stop the companies from providing insurance, but it’s a real shame.”