CROWDS flocked to Upton over the bank holiday weekend for the town's annual folk festival.

Now in its 15th year, the three-day event featured morris dancers and musicians from all over the country.

Among the performers were 45 dance sides from as far away as the Lake District, Yorkshire, Lancashire and the west of England, as well as Worcester, Malvern and Upton itself.

The festival kicked off on Friday evening and concluded on Monday.

Ceilidhs were held under the bridge, there was a mass dance on Saturday and a grand parade through the town on Sunday.

This was led by morris side The Masters of the Universe, who perform dressed as comic book characters, including Superman and Cat Woman.

There was also a street market and singarounds in the pubs, with concerts, workshops and indoor ceilidhs for ticket holders.

Richard Hannah, joint chairman of the festival, said it had been a weekend to remember.

"It was an excellent festival, virtually a sell-out," he said. "We sold about 750 to 800 tickets and the number of people in the streets must have been in the thousands.

"Everyone says every year that it's the best one yet, but I'm quite sure that this was as good as all the others.

"We had a lot of people coming up over the weekend and saying how much they had enjoyed it."

"What really makes it so good for everyone is the fact that it's in the town centre and not somewhere relatively remote. It's a town event rather than a closed event and this benefits visitors and locals."

The next major events in Upton are the jazz festival on June 24, 25 and 26, the blues festival on July 15, 16 and 17 the water festival on August 26, 27, 28 and 29.