MUSIC and colour exploded on to the streets and waterways of Middlewich at the weekend as families, folk fans and boaters flocked to the 16th Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival.

Barges lined the canals as far as the eye could see, campers filled the festival sites to bursting and concert venues were packed to the rafters for an event that organisers say was a non-stop highlight.

Festival director Liz Rosenfield said: "The best thing for us was to see the marquees full, fringe pubs busy and people walking around.

"If you took a snapshot of the weekend at any one time you'd see an awful lot of people having a really great time."

She said it was impossible to pick a favourite artist from all those performing at the different venues but there were some that would go down in festival history, including Hazel O' Connor.

Liz said: "Hazel didn't arrive in time for her performance on Sunday because her plane was cancelled and she had to take the ferry - then she got lost nine miles away.

"We have to thank Emma and the Professor for holding the fort - we hoped they had enough material - and Ann English who walked past the box office with a guitar on her back and was told 'main stage, now'.

"When Hazel arrived she got changed at the side of the stage, put her lippy on and was on stage in about 30 seconds - she was absolutely outstanding."

Liz was also impressed with newcomers Tom Kirkpatrick and the Beautiful Noise who wowed audiences waiting to see the Dylan Project in the main marquee on Friday night.

And she said Michael McGoldrick, who performed on the main stage on Saturday, was magical.

Festival fun also came in the shape of heritage boats and canal crafts, a colourful variety of Morris dancers, an energetic ceilidh and a lively parade through the town centre.

Liz said: "We'd like to thank all of the people who have had anything to do with the festival, from committee members to the people of the town."