Winchester was the place to be at the weekend when thousands of revellers descended on the city for one of the biggest dance events of the year.

Around 35,000 people turned out for the annual festival in Winchester to see some of the finest DJs and acts in the world.

They partied through from Saturday afternoon and into the early hours of Sunday morning at the 17-hour marathon event which is now in its seventh year.

And both police - who have been preparing for the festival for months - and organisers hailed it a huge success.

Officers made 42 arrests compared to 46 last year.

A total of 87 people were found in possession of drugs and two people were taken to hospital as a result of drug-related incidents.

Festival organisers claimed the extravaganza was one of the biggest and best yet.

A spokesman said: "This is one of the best line-ups we have ever had at Homelands and the atmosphere has been fantastic throughout the night. It has been a phenomenal success."

Before the event police pledged that public order offences would be their top priority.

Planning team Sgt Richard Blackford said: "It seems to have gone very well and early indications are that reported crime was down on last year. I was chatting to some people there who said the atmosphere was better than previous years and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves."

Some of the event was broadcast live on Radio 1 which had its own outdoor stage while five giant arenas featured state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems.

The line-up was like a Who's Who of the current dance scene and included the likes of Judge Jules, Paul Van Dyk and Roger Sanchez.

Among the highlights were Faithless, who performed a blistering live set to reaffirm their place as one of the nation's best performers and Pete Tong.

The festival also featured fairground rides and a host of stalls.

John Campbell, 25, from Northampton, who has been to the festival for the past four years said: "It's been a fantastic night and there has been so much to do. There has been something for everyone music-wise and now I can't wait for next year."