A TEN-FOOT-FOOT tall incarnation of the Face of All Seasons joined the parade route for the annual Woodingdean Carnival on Saturday morning.

Children from nurseries and primary schools - many in fancy dress as smurfs, painter-decorators and trees - joined their parents and teachers for the parade from Oak Cottage nursery to the fields of Woodingdean Primary School.

Though not as well-attended as in some previous years, a crowd of several hundred enjoyed a raffle, wood-fired pizzas and a display of karate as the sun threatened to break through the clouds.

Sophie Cucciniello, four, won the prize for the best fancy dress costume in the one to six- year old category.

She said the day was “great” and explained:“I’m a painter.”

This was the theme chosen by many of her Oak Cottage Nursery counterparts.

After a fire wrecked its buildings several months ago the property has been home to teams of painters and decorators returning the nursery to its former glory, and their paint-splattered overalls inspired many of the costumes.

Keith Larsson, 58, commanding officer of the TS Valiant Nautical Training Corps, was there with his crew who dragged with them a miniature canon.

The group learns sailing and seamanship skills and came to enjoy the day out.

Princess Winter, mother of a Woodingdean primary pupil, donned the ten-foot-tall Face Of All Seasons garb after a teacher could not attend the event.

She said: “It’s from a poem they studied called January Desolate and all the costumes were made in just one day.

“They opened the school to let the kids make them.”

Katherine Delaney, 47, who was volunteering at the cake stand, said: “It’s a great day for the community, it gives people a chance to get together and people can be made aware of what’s going on in the local area.”