Eastleigh'S last grand carnival procession of the century proved to be a record-breaker with more competitors than ever before.

Nearly 20 major floats lined up to take part in the 112th cavalcade, which brought a riot of colour to the streets of the town.

Procession organiser Keith Hibberd said the number of fancy dress walking contestants was also up on previous years.

But organisers had to deal with a major headache when Centrestage Youth Theatre's stunning re-creation of a Mississippi river boat, dubbed the Drama Queen, lived up to its name.

On the last leg of its carnival journey the home-made replica had a steering problem and ended up blocking the High Street, causing a 20-minute delay.

Earlier, Eastleigh mayor Jane Welsh - dressed in full civic regalia - had cut a ribbon to launch the grand parade which was led by the Romsey Old Cadet Carnival Showband.

Eastleigh's carnival queen, Natalie Angell, with princesses Sophie Carrott and Hayley Bampton, ruled the waves from a flower-decked vintage lorry, while crowds who lined the route were treated to a wealth of family fun in the sun.

Floats ranged from an underwater wonderworld - complete with a regal King Neptune - from the Swan shopping centre to colourful version of the circus big top by the Beehive Nursery School.

Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford Round Table brought former children's favourites such as Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men back to life while the Progressive Club had a devil of a good time with two ghoulish floats in a bid to convince onlookers that their club was one hell of a place to be.

First-prize winners in the procession:

Class 1, Decorated manually-propelled cart or cycle, The McArdle Trophy: Animal Hospital, Mrs Collins.

Class 2, Fancy-dress walking, up to ten years, Foster Shield: Knave and Queen of Hearts, Philip Warren

Class 3, Fancy-dress walking, ten to 14 years, A Stephens Cup: Victorian Family, The Aplin family.

Class 4, Industrial/trade comic tableaux, F Simmons Cup: Mary Poppins, Kent Sweepers.

Class 5, Industrial/trade descriptive tableaux, H Ivill Cup: Swanderful Life, The Swan Centre, Eastleigh.

Class 6, Undecorated trade vehicle, Carnival Medal: Mr Harris of Upham.

Class 7, Comic tableaux, Exley Cup: Kiddies TV, Eastleigh and Chandler's Ford Round Table.

Class 8, Descriptive tableaux, Bill Blake Cup: The Big Top, Beehive Nursery.

Class 9, Decorated car/motorcycle, Charles Sharp Memorial Cup: Noddy and Big Ears, Mrs Glover

Class 10, Walking groups (over four), Lorraine Trail Cup: Dragon, the Keen family.

Class 11, Individual fancy-dress, adult walking, Allan Willmer Cup: Looney Eclipse, Liz Bishop and Gill MacDonald.

Class 12, Youth organisation, comic tableaux, George Wright Cup: Drama Queen, Centrestage Productions.

Class 13, Youth organisation, descriptive tableaux, Jack Lee Cup: Clausentum Gym Club.

Class 14, Shop-window display, Silver Rose Bowl: Celebrations Cake Shop.

Class 15, Pub/club/hotel tableaux, Angela Holidays Trophy: Little Devils, Eastleigh Progressive Club.

Special award, the Iris Price Cup: Eastleigh, Chandler's Ford and District Branch of the Royal British Legion.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.