THE thrills and spills of the circus rolled into Oldham town centre on Saturday.

Hundreds flocked to the annual bank holiday celebration Festival Oldham which this year honoured the borough’s rich history of circus performances and marked a national 250 years of the circus.

Side shows, stilt walkers and street theatre filled Parliament Square, Oldham Parish Church yard and Gallery Oldham as the town basked in beautiful sunshine.

Doctor Diablo's Sideshow amazed and wowed the crowds with fantastic feats including fire eating, escapology and contortionism.

The parish church yard was transformed into The Circus Gardens as Circus Sensible set up camp with their yellow and blue big tops.

There was also a herd of captivating creatures on the prow including a giant lion, Tiddles the tiger and elephant sisters Hessi and Kalli.

A larger-than-life circus ringmaster oversaw proceedings and Circus Vee performed amazing aerial acrobatics at Gallery Oldham.