The streets of Valletta were alive to the sounds of pipes and drums this morning as thousands of scouts and guides took part in their annual parade.

The huge parade marched off from Floriana granaries and accorded the salute to President George Abela and the scout and guide commissioners on the Palace Square.

Such was the size of the parade that some troops were still marching into City Gate as others were marching out from Merchants' Street.

The parade spanned generations, with a number of pensioner scouts taking part along with, at the other end of the scale, hundreds of beavers and cubs, showing that the movement, now over 100 years, has a rosy future.