Eyes on the skies for kite-flying

Kites flying above the sand included cows, divers and a footballer's legs

Thousands of people have attended a kite festival in the seaside resort of Exmouth in Devon.

The two-day event, organised by the local Rotary club, marks the end of the town's annual festival.

Displays were staged by international experts, as well as local people flying their own kites.

Workshops were also set up for children to make their kites. Money raised by the event will go towards helping local and national charities.

'Ideal conditions'

These include Cornish-based charity ShelterBox, which has recently sent life-saving equipment to victims of the cyclone in Burma and the Chinese earthquake.

Other local charities to benefit will be Children's Hospice South West and Dream-Away, which provides holidays for children with learning difficulties.

Organiser Michael Wethrall-King told BBC News, weather conditions were "almost perfect".

Organisers hope to make the festival an annual event

"It's dry and it's breezy - absolutely ideal for kite-flying, although we could maybe do with a bit more sunshine for the spectators," he said.

He said Rotary hoped the kite festival could become an annual event for the town.

Kites flying above the sands of Exmouth ranged from those made traditionally from paper and string to hi-tech aerodynamic superkites and the more visually unusual - from a footballer's leg to cows and an underwater diver.