BALLOONS, bunting and streets brimming with community spirit helped make the Mad Hatter-themed Bicester Big Lunch the biggest yet.

Crowds flooded into Bicester town centre with picnics in hand on Sunday for the fifth annual street party to be organised by the Big Lunch team.

Organisers estimated the number of people who attended to eat lunch with the whole community easily surpassed last year's 5,000-strong crowd.

There were family fairground rides, a street food market, charity organisations stalls and lots of fun and games.

The event also featured incredible local artists and performers who took to the stage to show off a host of skills and talents.

Bicester Big Lunch chairman Jason Slaymaker said: "It was a resounding success and the weather was fabulous until about 4.45pm when the rain started sending people home on time.

"Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, with lots of people enjoying their own picnics as well as the food we had on offer.

"It was definitely much bigger than last year, so more than 5,000 people definitely.

"It was incredibly busy all through the day and the church service at the beginning of the day had about 1,000 people in attendance, which was very moving after the events of Saturday night in London."

Churches in Bicester held a joint service in Sheep Street in the morning, ahead of the Big Lunch at midday, and held a minute's silence following the terror attack in the capital.

Families then packed out Sheep Street and Crown Walk and got stuck into the Mad Hatter-themed fun and games put on by volunteers from Bicester Big Lunch team.

This included a picture-perfect tea party table, Cheshire Cat and Mad Hat stages, and a trail of playing cards throughout the town.

Mr Slaymaker added: "The climbing wall was a massive hit, as were the drumming workshops put on by Ray Watters, who held live drumming performances whilst teaching people the ropes so everyone could get involved with the performances."

"I am just really proud of the Bicester Big Lunch team and the amazing effort they put in.

"I am also really grateful to the community for their help, as we had lots of people come down and volunteer.

"It is really nice to have the community come together and everyone chipping in to help out."

Bicester Town Mayor Les Sibley was on hand on stage to officially open the Bicester Big Lunch 2017.

He was later joined by many community acts including the Bicester Elite Cheer United, The Oxford Belles, Launton Rock Choir, and Freestyle Martial Arts.

Making a popular return was the FIZZOG OAP dance team after a successful performance at last year's lunch and the Theatrix Puppet Show by the OYAP Trust.