A STREAM of light snaked its way through the narrow streets of Ulverston last night as crowds gathered to watch a spectacular luminous show under the stars.

Ulverston Lantern Festival returned in style with thousands turning out to admire parades of people carrying magnificent hand-crafted lights.

The inventive show, which chooses a different theme every year, saw space creations light the sky.

It was clear that residents, schools and community groups had been busy crafting designs for some time for this year's festival. Highlights included a huge ET, R2-D2, the starship Enterprise, rockets and many more.

Processions set off from Ulverston Parish Church, North Lonsdale Terrace, Hillfoot Hotel, and Central Drive in Croftlands at 7.45pm and made their way to County Square where the huge congregation merged and then headed off to Buxton Place car park where there was a firework display, music and entertainment.

There was a carnival atmosphere throughout the whole of the night as crowds lined the cobbled streets of the town centre to catch a glimpse of the brilliant river of light and see the extraordinary designs, with many left astonished at just how big the creations were.

Kevin Woods, from Ulverston, said: "Normally we spend more time on making the lanterns but we've just come back off holiday so I literally put these together in three hours.

"We bring Ellie and Poppy, our daughters here every year to see it and we really enjoy it."

Lantern committee chairman, Chris Nelson, said: "It was a fantastic evening, everyone had gone to town with the lantern making and had certainly risen to the occasion.

"It was certainly different being in the town centre and that is something we will be reviewing and we'll be able to see what lessons can be learn from that.

"It showed us that Ford Park is the best place for the firework finale.

"But it was a memorable evening and one of the biggest parades we have had for a number of years.

"We'd like to thank the police and St John Ambulance for their work last night. We really appreciate all the work they do to keep the crowds safe."

It has been estimated that there were about 600 lanterns filling the streets of Ulverston last night. One parade alone was 150m long.

The Ulverston Lantern Festival started around 30 years ago and is now one of the most popular nights in the town's packed events calendar.

Kerry Cotton, from Barrow, said: "We've just moved back to the area from Manchester so are going to start coming every year again like we used to.

"The festivals are great and they build a community.

"It allows people to be creative and it is a real family event."

Tracy Jones from Barrow has been every year to the festival with her family.

She said: "It is great. The kids love it. It really is fantastic.

"My favourite part is seeing all the lanterns that people make and the firework display at the end.

"The kids love the fair the most."

The magical evening was deemed a success and after the performance everyone was brought to a standstill as they admired the firework display that brought the lantern festival to a close.