Thousands of families flocked to a town centre to enjoy a lights festival over the weekend.

More than 54,000 people enjoyed the Medway Night Lights festival, which saw dramatic displays, a 12-storey-high light installation and a parade featuring hundreds of schoolchildren.

The free event took place on Friday and Saturday in Chatham and was organised by Medway Council in partnership with Emergency Exit Arts.

Last year's festival attracted more than 60,000 people in Rochester.

The latest two-day celebration saw Mountbatten House transformed into a gigantic beacon of light.

PIXELS from Lucid Creates illuminated the wall of windows of the 12-storey-high building, displaying mesmerising visuals which moved across the building to tell a story of hope, light and joy.

Chris Carr, founder of Lucid Creates, said: "Mountbatten House is an icon of the local area and means a number of different things to a number of different people.

"It feels impossible to be indifferent about the building due to the sheer size of it and how it commands the skyline. The building itself has inspired us – its history within the area, its cultural significance, its shape and size.

"We’ve seen its potential, as artists it is incredibly exciting to be given both a canvas and platform of this scale. Our aim is to share both the inspiration and the excitement the building has given us through art that is accessible for all.

"The purpose of PIXELS is to show people how art can completely transform places and how culture can reimagine skylines, towns and entire cities.

"By turning grey, dull buildings into bright, colourful beacons of hope – we want people to see the importance of supporting the arts and creativity, and the role it plays in imagining a better future."

The We Love Chatham Lantern Parade kicked off the festivities outside Café Nucleus on Friday evening.

More than 600 children from 20 local schools and groups took part in the Medway Night Lights Lantern Parade, produced by Cohesion Plus and Ideas Test.

The schoolchildren helped transform Chatham town centre, unveiling creative artwork they designed themselves, and made with support from Intra Arts, which runs a community arts venue in Rochester.

The artwork showcased what Medway’s young people love about Chatham, including boats due to the area’s connection to the River Medway and birds due to the local wildlife.

The parade also featured culturally diverse musicians, stilt walkers and street entertainers and follow Circo Rum Ba Ba's Light Ship along the high street.

Deputy council leader Cllr Howard Doe said: "Medway Light Nights was a huge success once again and we were delighted to welcome thousands of residents and visitors to Chatham.

"The free festival highlighted Medway’s incredibly talented creatives and shone a spotlight on the area’s creative spirit. I was pleased to see so many families enjoying the fantastic displays and colourful lights.

"We would like to thank our partner Emergency Exit Arts as well as Lucid Creates and the amazing collection of artists and creatives who made Medway Light Nights so spectacular.

"I would also like to say a special thank you to the more than 600 children who took part in the We Love Chatham lantern parade on Friday night as well as our own council staff who made the event possible.

"Medway Light Nights supports our aspiration to make Medway even more child-friendly as well as Medway’s cultural strategy, delivered by Creative Medway, and aims for the area to be internationally recognised for its creativity and culture by 2030."