SPECTATORS at the Devizes Carnival on Saturday (July 13) will be taken through centuries of history with the carnival's theme this year of Through The Ages.

The annual procession will line up at The Green off Nursteed Road in the afternoon leaving at 6.15pm before making its way into the centre of town and the Market Place.

The procession brings the town alive with vibrant walking groups, floats, bands and more with thousands of people lining the streets along the route.

Carnival is the culmination of masses of hard work on the part of the participants and a real spectacle, and the carnival awards are given to those who show creativity and innovation in their entry.

This year's carnival is a break with tradition as in the past it has been held on the first Saturday on September but organisers decided to move the date due to falling numbers of entries and to encourage schools to take part.

The event's artistic director Loz Samuels the schools missed out on the September date as they had been on holiday in the weeks leading up to it.

The carnival parade, which was originally held to raise money for the town's cottage hospital, has traditionally been held on the first Saturday in September and was first held in 1912.

In its early days the parade would stretch for more than a mile. But in recent years the number of motorised floats has dramatically declined.

Now organisers are promising the biggest carnival in years with the town gearing up for the big day.