London parade is rained on

More than 70,000 die-hard party-goers braved the rain to join in celebrations at London’s St Patrick’s Day parade and festival.

The festivities were led by TV star Dermot O’Leary and London Mayor Ken Livingstone as marching bands from the Metropolitan Police and the historic Garda Band headed the procession through central London.

The parade made its way from Hyde Park, through Piccadilly, Trafalgar Square to Victoria Embankment, as a larger-than-life St Patrick and leprechauns on stilts delighted thousands who had all turned out to enjoy the craic.