THRILLING displays and toe-tapping music kept hundreds entertained as the Battle Proms picnic concert descended once again on Blenheim Palace.

Revellers from Oxfordshire and beyond cracked open their hampers and champers for the annual event, which raises money for armed forces charity Combat Stress.

Vintage vocals group The Rockabellas got the party mood going as visitors ambled around traditional fairground stalls and watched Napoleonic re-enactors in their encampment, followed by a First World War display from an expert cavalry troop and a gun salute from the English Field Artillery Company.

A Spitfire tore through the skies overhead as the New English Concert Orchestra launched into a selection of classical favourites that ran through the evening.

The night culminated in a dazzling firework display and traditional sing-alongs and flag-waving proms, including favourites Jerusalem and Rule Britannia.

Since its inception the Battle Proms has supported Combat Stress, which treats veterans suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety.

More than £240,000 has been raised over the past 12 years.

Head of volunteer fundraising Josephine Crace said: "The Battle Proms season is one of the highlights in our fundraising calendar and we are always amazed at the generosity of the prom-goers at every venue, many of whom are regulars.

"The thousands raised from the concerts has been vital in helping to provide specialist clinical treatment for veterans suffering from psychological injuries."