IN VIDEO and PICTURES: Stone Cross parade celebrates St George's Day

The annual festivities began at Westminster Road, Stone Cross, West Bromwich, at 10am yesterday and continued through the town on a 1.8-mile procession to Dartmouth Park.

Among those who attended were veterans from the armed forces and the Royal British Legion.

Revellers waved flags and sang along to renditions of 'Jerusalem' and 'God Save The Queen' during the parade.

Mark Whitehouse, who organises the event alongside his wife Lynne, said it had been a fantastic family day out. "It went incredibly well and everyone got into the spirit of things," he said.

"The weather stayed right for us and there was just that good-hearted family atmosphere with people of all nationalities getting involved.

"It always takes a lot of organising but it is worth it when you see everyone smiling and enjoying themselves."

Houses along the route were also decorated in the colours of St George with organisers estimating as many as 15,000 took part in the celebrations.

West Bromwich Albion's Baggie Bird made an appearance to pose for selfies with children along with Georgie The Dragon. Every child was also given a free flag to wave on the parade. Face painters, balloon modellers, magic acts, bouncy castles and charity stalls were included during the day, with events finishing at around 4pm.

Mr Whitehouse added: "Next year it will be 20 years since we came up with the idea of having the parade alongside our founder Mark Cowles.

"It is amazing to think that it has grown from a little acorn into something of this magnitude. It has certainly left a legacy."

Other events that marked St George's Day included old-time jazz in Wolverhampton on Saturday.

Passers-by took a break to lap up the sounds – and the sunshine – in Queen Square with entertainment by Chris Carmell's New Vintage Jazz Band and the Signal 107 Roadshow.