SHOPPERS took a step back in time at the weekend when Worcester's High Street was filled with footsoldiers from the past.

Costumed re-enactors put on displays of period weaponry and body armour as people packed into the Guildhall on Saturday for the Three Battles Festival.

One of the organisers, local historian Dilip Sarkar, said the event was about giving people of all ages the chance to learn about the Battle of Worcester in 1651, the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, while also acting as an opportunity for the Battle of Worcester Society, the Simon de Montfort Society and the Battle of Tewkesbury Society to raise their profiles.

He said: "It's positive we got together as societies because each battle was about 200 years apart so it's interesting to see the changes in English society over those 600 years."

Mr Sarkar said the festival had gone very well and hoped it would become an annual event.