Locals and visitors both young and old came from as far as Yorkshire to enjoy a glorious day filled with good-hearted family fun.

The 40th annual Kingston Fun Day was nothing short of successful this year - with hundreds of people flocking to the quaint little village under an apt, Caribbean-style sun.

The organisers really came through with the village’s Jamaican namesake, and the Caribbean theme was definitely well thought out, with a massive Bob Marley cutout looking onto the field from the bar as you entered the grounds.

Props to Gareth David Jones, who was the creative mastermind behind the brilliant Bob cutout.

People took to the occasion, dressing up as their version of Captain Jack Sparrow or wearing the staple red, green and yellow-clad outfits. And of course, donning dreadlocks.

We spoke to a few of the festival-goers and some made the drive from Plymouth, while two said they’d come all the way from Yorkshire. Most people just came for the afternoon, but many ‘happy campers’ made a weekend of it, with basic camping available in one of the nearby fields.

The day was started with the fancy dress children and a few dedicated adults meeting at the fire station for judging, where this year’s fair queen, Millie Whiting-Russell, 10, and the Kingston Royal Family led the procession up to the event to officially open for 1pm.

The youngsters were kept entertained the entire time, lightening the work load for mum and dad to enjoy themselves as well. In addition to the usual Bouncing Crazy bouncy castle, there were also kids races in the arena throughout the day, tug-of-war, Urban Zorb, and a playground equipped with a zip line and brand new swings.

For the curious kiddies, Discovery Bugs was a new addition this year, where children could engage with different experiments and slime-making masterclasses.

An eclectic mix of bands ensured a little something for everyone, with the Ukelective closing down the acoustic stage at dusk, and had everyone dancing along to their setlist of awesome covers. Demophobic ‘went down a storm on stage’ and then went on to win tug-of-war!

Serenity had their first appearance on stage in over 10 years, which brought in a huge crowd from Ivybridge where they started out as a school band. The Kingstons played late into the night, with their reggae ska tunes, and not a soul was standing still in the audience.

However, the newest addition was this year’s silent disco, which proved to be a ‘real highlight for everyone that came along’, and people aged eight to 70 were dancing into the night.

Hayley Jones, chairman of the KFD committee, and a small team of an extra five people who all grew up in the village run the event.

Hayley said: “I took on running Kingston Fun Day eight years ago, and we have tried our hardest to retain they key elements from the original fair, whilst modernising things with a focus on decent live music, etc.

“This year was above success, and the weather was playing ball too! All of the children’s activities were flat out - Discovery Bugs science stall, as well as Creation Station arts and crafts.

“Bays Brewery are always integral in helping us stock our bar and give us a huge amount of support. Their Windfall Cider was flying out, and had sold out by the afternoon.

“We had a great turnout from the village to help with the clear up on Sunday, and can’t thank everyone involved enough.

“We’d like to thank Beth Lewis - who always takes photos for us for the day, and everyone who helped, supported, and enjoyed KFD.

“Here’s to next year!”