COMIC book fans have helped raise a record-breaking amount of cash for good causes.

Comic heroes and sci-fi fan favourites descended on Colchester for this year's Invasion.

For the ninth time, familiar characters and vehicles from everyone’s favourite shows and films came to the town.

Last year’s event raised more than £13,000, to be split between St Helena Hospice and the Colchester and Ipswich Hospital Charity's Cancer Centre Campaign.

This year hundreds of people flocked to the town to take part in and enjoy the spectacle.

It has taken time to count the donations but the grand total for this year has come in at £18,134.

Kerrie Williams, who helped organise the event, said: "This amazing feat was achieved through both the hard work and dedication of those involved directly, and the incredible generosity shown by everyone who donated. "This money will help both causes to make a genuine difference in people's lives.

"We want to thank everyone and if we could give you a big hug altogether, we would."

Ace Comics, Lion Walk, Culver Square, Fenwick, Firstsite, the BID team, and Film, TV and Music Quizzes all sponsored the event.

Dozens of key characters from franchises including Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and the Marvel Universe were on hand to meet, greet and pose for pictures with fans.

Special guests included Clem So, Nick Joseph, Mike Edmonds, Martin Ballantyne and Sandeep Mohan, all of whom have worked on well-known TV shows and films.