A PUBLIC park was overrun by prized pets as Brighton’s finest four-legged friends took part in a fashion show for dogs.

The Pride Community Day and Dog Show saw those taking part go paw to paw in a series of hotly contested events.

Preston Park in Brighton was the battleground as dogs and their owners competed for the top spot in several categories, including cutest puppy, most handsome dog, waggiest tail, golden oldie, the dog that the judge would take home and the coveted best in show.

There were also a series of challenges for the dogs to conquer such as a sausage catching event and the dreaded “Temptation Alley” in which dogs must make their way along a course, ignoring a series of carefully placed tasty distractions and get back to their owner.

The doggy fashion show saw proud owners parade their preened pooches around the ring, to be judged by a team of industry professionals. The show took place on Sunday and hundreds of people made the trip to see the cute pooches.

Last year the event had to be postponed due to heavy rain and strong winds, and was rescheduled for October.

But this year there was no such threat as visitors enjoyed 20C heat throughout the day.

Shade and paddling pools were provided to keep paws cool in the warm weather. Alongside the competition there were plenty of other events to entertain people.

There was also novelty classes, family entertainment, face painting and food and drink on offer to keep visitors busy.

The event is organised and run by Brighton and Hove Pride alongside Coastway Vets, which opened the first 24-hour emergency veterinary surgery in Brighton.

The event was a perfect warm-up for the city’s Pride weekend which is now less than four weeks away.

The UK’s biggest Pride festival will see performances from Kylie Minogue, Clean Bandit, Fleur East and ABBA cover band Bjorn Again at its Pride in the Park evening event on August 3.