DEVIZES trader John Parker thought that last year's Sidmouth Street Festival would be hard to beat but his prayers to the weather gods were answered and Saturday's event was a huge success.

He said: "It was amazing. It was fantastic to see the street so full and so many people enjoying themselves. Last year's event was our first and it was a great success but I think this one was even better.

"We needed to be helped by the weather gods and we were. The morning started bit overcast but then the sun came out. It couldn't have been better really."

Mr Parker, who is a town councillor and one of the founders of the Sidmouth Street Traders Association, said the whole road was busy with people enjoying looking at classic cars and buying from the many stalls which included a Pimms bar, local produce, clothes and take away food.

A Batmobile created by Mark Enright of Podpad Studios in Devizes got a lot of attention from young and old old alike.

Mr Enright said: "It is our latest and most successful prop and is currently touring the UK attending commercial and charity events. We have had huge interest in the full size prop which has a Steampunk interior designed specifically for visually impaired children featuring audio and Braille tablets which trigger engine sounds."

Mayor Jane Burton declared the festival open at 11am and said that as a person Devizes born and bred she was delighted to see Sidmouth Street being brought back to life.

Mr Parker said she had later sent him a delightful email thanking him and other traders for helping to put this corner of the town back on the map.

Devizes Town Band got people in the mood for fun when they started the music line-up and were followed by Barry Dean, Antigua Jo, The Heartbeats, People like Us. The Bird Dogs closed the show.

Mr Parker said: "The town band was wonderful as always. Devizes is very lucky to have them. The last act came on at 4.30pm and by 6.15 everything was tidied up and you wouldn't even know something had been on.

"It was a real team effort. We are now planning for our Christmas event and thinking about next summer. It is a lot of hard work but when it is successful it makes it all worthwhile."