HUNDREDS of people turned out in the sunshine for this year’s Purton Carnival on Saturday.

This year’s theme was the Wild West, and at 1pm floats containing gun-slinging cowboys and feathered Indians, witches, horses and babies in wagons paraded through the town on a new route from Ringsbury, through the triangle and up Church Street.

There, they joined the fete by Purton House’s Organics Farm Shop, opened from noon, where visitors enjoyed a variety of stalls and sideshows including a fun fair, stands, car boot sale and a barbecue.

There was even a dog show, with four-legged family members getting involved with the fun.

Kevin Law, the chairman of the Purton Carnival Committee, said: “I think it went really well, the weather was on our side and we had tremendous support from all the residents in Purton who came along and the people from outside the community who also came along to enjoy a fun day out.

“We had a fete starting from 12pm to 6pm and here was a fun fair, a rodeo because it was on a Wild West theme this year, we had a barbecue stand, a Pimms Bar and lots of stalls.

“This year we actually changed the route of the procession and we actually held the fete at Purton House, which was brilliant and we’re very grateful to have been able to use it. We just hope they will let us se it again next year and it will become the preferred site.

“We changed it because it used to be held at the school, which is a more central location but it meant the procession had to go up the hill and then back down again and by that time everyone had already seen it.

“With the new location it means everybody can follow behind the procession to the fete itself like they used to do.”

Supporters of the carnival themselves voted for the Wild West theme after three different suggestions were put to a vote on the carnival’s Facebook page.

Kevin said: “There were three themes which people had to choose from, and Wild West was the most popular.

“There were only nine floats in the end but there were walking processions, which included the army cadets, the Brittania Majorettes, Wiltshire Youth Band and Cricklade Band.”