A very fine amphibian

As part of The Echo's sponsorship of the lantern parade, we had our very own frog made this year.

Karen Coyle was given the job of designing and constructing him and said she wanted to give him a "laconic" look.

The frog (which Karen named 'Echo') got a great response from the crowd as we carried him in the parade, and a fairy and a cheeky pelican kept on wanting to kiss him.

Echo won't be hidden away until next year; sometime in the next few weeks he will take pride of place on the masthead on the front of the paper every week.

And after many years of making lanterns, Karen finally got to watch the parade for the first time.

"It's the first time I've stood in the crowd and it was really lovely to hear all the kids and all the comments," she said.