THE 30th anniversary of Ulverston Lantern Procession was hailed as a great success.

For the first year since its inception in 1982, the event was organised without the help of founding institution Lanternhouse. It closed earlier this year due to funding cuts.

Despite the setback, the community came together to ensure it was business as usual. For several weeks, residents have been constructing marvellous creations for the procession.

Four ‘rivers of light’ — each consisting of dozens of people holding their lanterns aloft — converged on County Square before winding through the town to Ford Park for a dramatic firework finale.

The theme this year was ‘We’ve Built A Lantern Town’ and there were more than 500 eye-catching lanterns on display, including Second Ulverston Scout Group’s giant film camera lantern, projecting live footage on to a big screen.

Peter Winston, member of the Ulverston Lantern Festival Group, said: “It was a really good night. People got very involved. The loss of Lanternhouse meant we lost the space for lantern making workshops, but it didn’t seem to effect the event.”