NOT even a global pandemic was going to stop the residents of Kirkbride holding their much-loved village carnival.

It’s a tradition dating back more than 40 years and in all that time not a single one has been missed.

This year Kirkbride Carnival Committee decided to adapt the event to ensure it could still be enjoyed, within the lockdown rules.

Gardens and homes were decorated instead of floats and, while some aspects could not go ahead, the spirit of the carnival lived up to tradition.

Kerriann Stamper, of Kirkbride Carnival Committee, said she was “overwhelmed” and it had been a “triumphant day”.

“We’ve never missed one so it would have been a shame to miss this one," she said. "The plans are to come back bigger and better next year.

“There is an emphasis on keeping it traditional and I think that’s why its very popular.”

Kerriann said there was usually half a dozen floats but there were a lot more entries for the garden displays this year and it's now something they hoped to include in future years. She added that the weather played its part in keeping with tradition.

“It was very windy in the morning and we were all a bit apprehensive of how it was going to go but the sun shone on us which was great,” she said. “It’s always a panic in the morning but then the sun starts shining.”

Kerriann was born and brought up in Kirkbride and has always taken part in the carnival.

Her late father Vince Stamper, who was known as Mr Carnival Man for his love of the tradition and walking the procession every year, was a big miss this year as it was the first without him.

“He would have loved it," said Kerriann. "Walking around talking to everybody. Everyone was just sharing the love really. It needed to be done. We’ve done a lot of things in lockdown but carnival was our last big event and it was important to keep morale up. When the children were putting their displays up and getting their costumes on it was like a proper carnival morning, the buzz and the excitement was there.”