Youngsters concentrate on painting stones during Cromer carnival children's week. Picture: ANDREAS YIASIMI

Carnival capers are under way at Cromer - for youngsters - as the town revs up for its main week of summer fun in mid August.

Family fun building a sandcastle during Cromer carnival children's week. Picture: ANDREAS YIASIMI

Children’s weeks are a traditional warm up for the main programme. Dating back more than 40 years they have entertained generations of fun-seekers at the resort.

This week an average of 150 youngsters per session have been having a go at various challenges on the seashore.

They have been building sandcastles, painting stores, digging for treasure, fighting the tide, hunting for crabs in rock pools, designing a carnival poster - and, topically, making Olympic torches and doing beach sports.

Libby Clohisey, who co-organises the events with Tony West, said the events were a free “give-back” from the carnival, with participants split 50:50 between locals and trippers.

Heave ho - Tug of war action at Cromer carnival children's week. Picture: ANDREAS YIASIMI

Everyone had been having fun - even during the showers - with some of the simpler games like chalking on the prom, and painting a crab shell among the most popular. Last year all 800 shells were snapped up by young seashore artists.

A second week of events next week includes puppets, a stretcher and dummy race, scavenger hunt, disco and a youngsters’ version of the traditional waiters and waitresses race.

The main carnival events start on Saturday August 11, with events including a motorbike extravaganza. The following day comic Jimmy Cricket will crown carnival queen Elsie Yiasimi at the pier forecourt just after noon during a day which includes custom cars, bonny babies, knobbly knees and glamourous granny contests.

The waiters and waitresses races are on Monday, and family fun day on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s carnival day climax which sees the Red Arrows aerobatic team in the skies at 3pm before the 7pm parade.

Full details at www.cromercarnival.co.uk