CROWDS gathered to enjoy an annual celebration of an alternative sci-fi genre.

The Phoenix Alternative Festival welcomed steampunk enthusiasts to Llanfyllin Workhouse for an event packed with socialising, entertainment and charity fundraising.

A spokesman for the festival said: "Steampunk can’t be explained: it has to be experienced. Music is part of it but seems relatively marginal – though festival-goers gyrated happily to the Retro Clones; the Deviant Amps and the Big Fibbers.

"More attention is paid to the fantastic costumes: some stunning works of craftsmanship, others unbelievably bizarre. Their wearers have themselves photographed with imposing wet collodion plate cameras first introduced in 1851; fence fiercely with umbrellas; engage in viciously competitive games of croquet or compete to see whose biscuit takes longest to dissolve in a floral china cup of freshly brewed leaf tea."

The festival - promoted by Steampunk Records and BB Blackdog- donated all proceeds this year to the Llanfyllin Dolydd Building Preservation Trust, which has hosted the event for the past three years.

Cllr Simon Baynes also paid a visit to the festival.