THOUSANDS of people braved the bad weather to watch an action-packed firework display in the region.

Despite the rain visitors turned up in droves for the event in South Park, Darlington. The weather failed to dampen people's spirits during the fireworks and laser spectacular on Saturday evening. The event was masterminded by one of the world's leading pyrotechnic and display designers, Graham Wilkinson. The crew from the new TFM radio breakfast show joined Darlington Borough Council to launch the event. Celebrations started with the lighting of a bonfire followed by a Pyro 2000 firework and laser display. Visitors were treated to a music roadshow provided by 96.6TFM radio and Magic 1170 throughout the display. The event has become popular in recent years with more than 100,000 people turning up for the display last year, making it the biggest display in the area.