THOUSANDS of foodies flocked to the hotly anticipated return of Brightlingsea Food and Drink Festival.

After a difficult 2018 due to extreme weather conditions, the JK Events organised festival returned to delight crowds with more than 80 stalls to explore.

Everything from pizzas cooked in wood fired ovens to Hungarian goulash was on the menu and the festival’s vegan and vegetarian options were also expanded.

Revellers could also enjoy a drink or two from the bar, with all of the beverages coming from Colchester suppliers.

Artists and craftspeople showed off their wares with stalls selling boutique fashion, handbags and jewellery.

Will Jenkins, one of the organisers, said: “It could not have gone any better.

“We had lots of happy people and happy stallholders attend.

“We estimate we had around 5,500 people over both days.

“The weather helped and the fact there had been a few bad weekends beforehand.

“All our suppliers are local.”