JUBILANT crowds descended on Highbridge and Burnham on Monday night - as this year's spectacular carnival burst onto the streets.

More than 20,000 people lined the route to catch a glimpse of a fire-breathing dragon, Egyptian fighters and burlesque dancers, who wowed judges and left spectators open-mouthed.

A buzz of anticipation swept through crowds as the procession snaked through the towns, dazzling in a flash of colour.

This year's big winners were Gremlins CC, who raced to a hat-trick of wins on the carnival circuit so far with their Joust cart.

Gemini CC's spine-tingling To The Trees tableau also won them plaudits - along with the Open Tableau trophy.

But arguably this year's headline grabbing performance came from Burnham's Hillview JCC, who won their third Juvenile Feature of Tableau title of the season on home soil.

Mark Bishop, cart captain of their Gee Wiz entry, told the Weekly News: “It's always nice to win on home soil.

“We have had a few problems with the cart over the weekend, but everyone has worked hard and pulled together.

“It's a brilliant feeling to win and everybody is over the moon. “The reaction to our cart in Highbridge and Burnham was probably the best I have ever seen - it went down really well.

“The kids were giving it their all and the crowd really got behind us. “It was special.”

Members celebrated the victory with a party at the Ritz Social Club in Burnham and now hope to keep their run going on Wednesday at Shepton Mallet Carnival.

A double-headed fire-breathing dragon and crusading knights were enough for Bridgwater-based Gremlins CC to take the Features title.

Their stunning cart kept up the club's impressive reputation and their 100% record in this carnival year.

Phil Brockbank, Gremlins chairman, said: “I don't know if everyone was convinced about the cart until it came out of the shed and we saw how good it was.

“We usually try to do something a little different - we wouldn't be the same club if we didn't - and it keeps everyone motivated.”

Elsewhere Just Georges CC secured the Morland Cup in the Comic Feature category with their O'Raffety's Motor Car cart.

Foxy Ladies CC scooped the Pairs title, Xtreme CC won the Adult Group of Masqueraders class and Avalon JCC came out top in the Juvenile Group of Masqueraders category.

Highbridge's the Lucy Gunter School of Dance and Theatre Arts narrowly missed out on their fourth win in four years, coming second in the Anything Goes category, behind Boogie Bass Bugs.