THE night sky above Darlington exploded in a kaleidoscope of colour as the fireworks display thrilled crowds on Saturday.

Organisers had feared the bad weather and muddy conditions might deter people from visiting the South Park show. But they need not have worried as spectators turned up in their tens of thousands for the Century FM Fireworks 2000.

The Mayor of Darlington, Councillor Dot Long, hailed the event a great success.

She said: "I thought it was absolutely brilliant.

"At first we thought the numbers might be down, but the general impressions was that numbers were the same as last year, if not more, and that's normally put at 100,000 people."

She added: "It's such an organisational miracle, it really is, and I've got to pay tribute to our staff."

Century Radio's Paul "Goffy" Gough led the fun, which included a bonfire, laser show and, of course, plenty of fireworks.

Spectator Michael Lumb from Heighington, who attended the event with girlfriend Vicky, said: "I thought it was an excellent show, one of the best I've seen."