Notting Hill Carnival hailed by police as 'positive and celebratory' despite 169 arrests

Hundreds of thousands of revellers will descend on Notting Hill Carnival on Monday as police hailed the "overwhelmingly positive and celebratory" mood, despite making 169 arrests. Sunday’s family day celebrations of Caribbean culture saw an array of mas bands, steel pan bands, dancers, and sound systems light up the west London district in colour, glitter, and feathers. Thousands of children took part in the parade, wearing carnival regalia with all the feathered plumes and towering headdresses that is traditional on the day.Elsewhere, dancers wore glittering costumes in all the colours of the rainbow as soundsystems played every kind of music from samba to house and reggae. As ever, Soca music was the most popular at Notting Hill Carnival, blending American soul with Caribbean rhythms.Despite the upbeat party atmosphere, the Met Police reported 169 arrests as of 7.45pm. Offences including possession of drugs, possession of weapons, assaults (including assaults on emergency workers) and sexual offences.Of the total arrests, most took place inside the event with 27 on the approaches outside. Some 29 arrests were as a result of live facial recognition (LFR), including three sex offenders arrested for breaching conditions while 26 other registered sex offenders were spoken to.Officers responded to two knife assaults – a slashing to the leg and a slashing to the hand – neither of which resulted in life changing or life threatening injuries.Commander Claire Smart, in charge of the policing operation, said: “We have been working closely with Notting Hill Carnival Ltd and other partners for many months ahead of this weekend’s event.“The organisers have stepped forward significantly across the event, including crowd management, and we have seen the positive progress today. While we have seen a significant number of arrests and interventions by officers, the result of that proactive approach is a welcome reduction in the levels of serious violence seen at the event in previous years.Carnival was far from over as dancing carried on throughout the eveningPAParticipants take part during the family day at the Notting Hill Carnival PAThe annual west London carnival is Europe’s biggest street partyPA WirePolice officers next to portable walk-through metal detectors PAElsewhere, a van caught alight at Pembridge Villas opposite the festivities and saw London Fire Brigade dispatched four fire engines and around 25 firefighters to the scene.Read MoreFirefighters were seen shaking their heads in disbelief as the float passed. When the MC eventually noticed, he issued an apology to the crowd.Despite the hiccup, the carnival was largely a happy event as revellers danced around more than 50 sound systems in W10 and continued partying until late in the evening.This year’s festivities mark 60 years since the carnival’s inception, which was originally born out of resistance to racial injustice. The first day saw Saturday’s Steel Band Competition, while Sunday began with the colourful J’ouvert opening celebration at Ladbroke Grove followed by the much-anticipated Children’s Day and Dutty Mas parade, kicking off at Westbourne Park. Sounds of calypso, samba reggae and soca continued right up until 7pm. Festivities continue on Monday when the adult’s day parade marks the very peak of carnival.