THERE was plenty of clowning around in Cononley on Saturday when the circus came to town in the form of the village's annual gala.

Clowns, jugglers, strong men and lion tamers galore mixed with gala-goers, taking advantage of the glorious weather.

BBC Look North's weatherman Paul Hudson must have thought he was a good omen as he opened the event, although he admitted the sunshine was not really of his making.

Paul, who graces our TV screens most evenings, helped judge the best decorated house competition and the fancy dress, before presenting the prizes to the lucky winners.

The procession toured the village to kick off the millennium event, complete with Nelson Brass Band, Cononley Brownies' a Chinese dragon, the obligatory Posh Spice and Beckham in the fancy dress and the village's WI whose "Oh, what a circus" float included Gypsy Rose Lee, a snake charmer and a rather convincing lion.

On the gala field children were kept entertained with a giant colourful inflatable maze, a bouncy castle and coconut shy.

And messy pastimes such as the egg throwing contest and stocks were as popular as ever.

The Golden Girls showed off their tap dancing skills and Cononley School pupils entertained with a display of country dancing.

Later in the day energetic children aged three to 14 took place in the sports.

This year's event was particularly significant as thousands of pounds has been raised to install new play equipment in the playing fields.

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