THINGS came in twos at a successful Cononley Gala on Saturday.

The theme for the day – Cononley at the Double – was evident in the procession that began the day, and the fancy dress competition, which saw children and adults alike dressing up as famous pairs, such as Ant and Dec, Sooty and Sweep, Pebbles and Bam Bam and even wine and cheese.

Stepping Stones Pre-school and Nursery won first place in the procession with its Noah's Ark theme.

A real boat was used by Cononley Hall Bed and Breakfast, and it finished runners-up with its Pirates of the Caribbean entry. Third place went to the South Craven School cheerleaders, which led the procession and also gave a performance on the Cononley Playing Fields.

Cononley Gala organiser, Lois Brown, said special guests of honour during the procession were residents Charlie and Linda Bayer, who rode in a 1934 Rolls Royce.

"Charlie has been involved in the Cononley Playing Fields Committee for a long time and he's do so much work for the village," she added. "He's also doing extremely well in his recovery from a road bike accident.

"There were well over 1,000 people who came to the gala and it was the biggest procession we've ever had. There was so much going on and we were really busy all day."

A mid-afternoon Spitfire flyover had visitors looking to the skies, and many familiar faces retained their trophies in the sporting events.

Fourteen-year-old Adam Gregory won the U-16s boys fell race and seven-year-old Millie Timbers won the U-16s girls fell race, both retaining trophies they won at last year's gala.

Scarlett Miller, ten, won the overall girls' sporting event, which included favourites such as sprints, the egg and spoon race and sack race, and Aidan Lee, 11, won the equivalent boys' event.

Two Cononley pub teams battled it out in the tug-o'-war, with the New Inn completing the treble by beating The Railway for the third year in a row.

Resident, Joan Nicholson, added: "This year’s Cononley Gala was a fantastic success, judging by the record number of people turning out in costume for the procession and the number of village folk coming along to watch the fun.

"Many thanks to Lois Brown for masterminding the whole thing, to all the many helpers, both beforehand and on the day, and to those who turned out to enjoy themselves and contribute to the annual maintenance of Cononley’s Playing Fields."

The event raised approximately £2,800 for the Cononley Playing Fields.

Anyone who would like to volunteer to help out at next year's Cononley Gala should e-mail lois133@btinternet.com for more details.