The force was with Herne Bay on Sunday as thousands of visitors descended on the town for the annual Sci-Fi by the Sea festival.

It was a chance for families to meet their film and comic heroes and see some of the famous movie mechanical stars, like the Batmobile, the Back to the Future DeLorean car and Knight Rider’s talking Pontiac Firebird.

They found Superman rubbing shoulders with Doctor Who’s Cybermen and Storm Troopers vying for attention with Chewbacca.

The motley crew from Mad Max looked every bit the part and there were numerous zombies and monsters to scare the children, including Predator and Darth Vader.

There were super heroes too, including Ironman and Spiderman as well as characters from Disney favourites like Frozen.

But the biggest draw was the giant 8ft wisecracking robot Titan who has appeared at shows and on television all over the world, and even on stage with Rhianna.

Among the stars making guest appearances were Sylvester McCoy who played Doctor Who and Radagast the Brown in the Hobbit and Michael Henbury, Britain’s shortest man, who appeared in the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and Star Wars – Return of the Jedi.

Actor Paul Markham was also there. He has been in two Superman films, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade and Tim Burton’s Batman. He also played an imperial officer in Return of the Jedi.

Robert Llewellyn, aka Kryten from Red Dwarf, was also signing autographs for fans.

Sci-fi fans could see some of the best exhibits, costumes and stands in the country.
It was the third Sci-Fi by the Sea festival organised by the Bay Promo Team and all 7,000 advance tickets were sold out days before the event.

Spokesman Gerald McCarthy said: “Ours is now one of the biggest sci-fi conventions in the South East but I think the difference is that it’s outside and not in a stuffy hall.

“We have everything including live music and a food hall and huge inflatables for the kids to appeal to all ages, which was always our aim.

“The sci-fi genre has a huge following and it’s great that so many characters have taken the time to dress up so authentically. They are obsessed with getting the detail spot on which reflects in the quality of the costumes. Some of their costumes are screen ready. The kids are going bananas as soon as they come through the gates.

“To get stars like a Doctor Who to come to Herne Bay is not easy but it recognised the calibre of the event and even the celebrities have said this isn’t something they have seen before so the word is spreading.

“It all started three years ago because we knew there was a strong sci-fi following in Herne Bay.

“The promo team are all volunteers but we love to see the town flourish with events like this and we think the entry cost of £20 for a family is terrific value.”