Hundreds of people turn out for Platinum Jubilee celebration in heart of Cannock

City and town centre streets came to life with music, colour and dancing and red, white and blue as crowds gathered to honour the Queen's milestone of 70 years on the throne.

And people didn't let the occasional heavy downpour or bad weather get them down on Saturday, instead they put up their umbrellas and continued celebrating the occasion.

In Cannock town centre, crowds were all-singing and upbeat – with Union Flags being flown proudly – with stilt walkers, live entertainment and face painting on offer.

And it wasn't long before queues of families formed at the face painting area whilst youngsters could become royalty and sit on a throne with a royal sceptre.

Among those to embrace the royal side of life was Imogen Williams, aged five, who put on a tiara for a picture to mark the Queen's 70 years on the throne.

Her mother Laura Williams, from Hednesford, said: "She's really enjoying it – we just popped down for an hour or so and she's loving having her photograph taken and seeing all the different characters.

"We saw this on Facebook and we went to one (a jubilee event) in Hednesford as well. We thought we would come down and have a wonder around."

Children's characters – including Alice, Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, the Queen of Hearts and the Cheshire Cat – interacted with youngsters before taking to main stage as backing dancers later on.

Stilt walkers covered in Union Flags walked around the main area whilst families gathered at the front, close to the stage, as hits including Abba's Dancing Queen blared out followed by other songs – such as songs from Grease.

Lisa Edwards, from near Hednesford, was among those near the front of the stage with her daughters eight-year-old Charlotte Edwards and two-year-old Beatrix Haywood – who were enjoying the event.

The eight-year-old enjoyed meeting the characters whilst the two-year-old was enjoying the music and dancing. "It's been really good, it's great to see the girls really enjoy themselves," Lisa added.

Elsewhere at the special jubilee event, organised by LR Partnership Events, seven-year-old Emily Dunning had got her face painted with a butterfly on it – having instantly liked the design.

"We're really enjoying it – we're having a great time, we've come for a look round and a dance." her mother Catherine, from Great Wyrley, said after turning out to the event to have a look what was on offer.

And the jubilee spirit was well alive with Patricia Corbett, from Heath Hayes, who visited the event with her family from Featherstone – and even put on a mask of the Queen for the celebrations.

She said: "It's just been fabulous. It's been really good and the family have enjoyed it. I chose the mask because it's the Queen and she's fabulous, isn't she? I feel very honoured because I saw the millennium and now the Queen's jubilee, what more can you ask for?"

Patricia added it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment and would most likely be the "only time" people get to see the occasion full stop.

Meanwhile, with their faces painted with Union Flags, Brigitta Hornvak and her mother Margit – both from Hungary but now living in Walsall – were out celebrating the landmark milestone.

Brigitta said: "It's really nice, we really enjoy it. We're from Hungary but we've lived in England for eight years now and we just love to celebrate the Queen's jubilee. My mother, me and my son are here so we're three generations who are celebrating."

The event boasted a string of food vendors and retail stalls, with 107.3 Stafford FM breakfast presenter and founder member Stu Haycock leading the celebrations on stage and getting people excited for the celebrations.

And there was even a display from the Bailliamo Belly Dancers whilst The Blonettes performed afterwards, followed by the Red Hot Chili Potters and later the Bluebird Belles – a vintage trio – to close out the celebrations at 6pm.

There were vintage toys, loaded nachos, savoury scotch eggs, ice cream, doughnuts and other items on offer to visitors at the free event which attracted a whole host of people – despite the occasional fierce downpour of rain.

Elsewhere, Black Country Brass performed at The Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley as part of the celebrations – and even performed a rendition of God Save The Queen, which led to people singing and applause.