FOR nearly 40 years it was one of the highlights of Worcester's summer. The city carnival was revived in the mid-1960s and continued until the early 2000s before running out of steam.

However this year it returned on Bank Holiday Monday with a procession that started in Foregate Street at 1.30pm and proceeded through the city centre before ending outside the old fire station in Copenhagen Street. It was followed by a fun-packed afternoon on Pitchcroft that defied the showers.

Traditionally one of the focal points of the procession used to be the Carnival Queen float and while there was no Queen this year, that doesn't stop us taking a nostalgic trip back down the years to re-visit some of the young Worcester women who have won the crown.

We kick off with Lesley Clark in 1968 who went on to appear in the regional television soap Crossroads and include a photograph of 1996 Queen Kelly Barratt, who completed a 12 hour ski session to raise money for the Carnival's charity.

"Without doubt being Worcester Carnival Queen has been the best year of my life," she said.