Kent will resemble a scene from the Walking Dead later this year as hundreds of monsters take to the streets for the return of one of the county’s largest Halloween events.

The Zombie Crawl will return to Herne Bay on October 27 – two years after the last one – organisers the BayPromoTeam have announced.

The family-friendly event will see hundreds of men, women and children in makeup, tattered clothes and drenched in fake blood staggering through the town.

Organiser Gerald McCarthy said: “We had a year off after five consecutive Zombie Crawls. With no other large events to distract us, we decided to rise it up from the grave.

“In the past, we’ve had up to 2,000 zombies. The standard of makeup each year is incredible. Many of the people are of the level of anything on a Walking Dead set.

“Previously, we’ve had anything from zombie clowns on stilts to zombie circus performers, jugglers and fire breathers. It’s fairly quirky.”

The route will start at the Clock Tower plaza, where there will be demonstrations on how to walk like the undead beforehand.

Whitstable’s 30-strong drum band – the Samba Pelo Mar – will then lead the procession along the seafront and through the high street.

In the past, the sight of hundreds of the undead limping through the centre of Herne Bay has frightened shoppers.

“During the first one, there was a lady who was getting some money out of a cash machine and she was shocked to see a thousand zombies so she got her money and locked herself in her car,” Mr McCarthy said.

“But it’s very well advertised, natured and managed. It’s nothing to be scared of at all – we’ve even had toddlers getting involved.

“People who aren’t so keen to cover themselves in fake blood will be watching their friends and family participate.”

Mr McCarthy added arrangements are being made for a ball to take place at the King’s Hall immediately afterwards.

Beach Creative will hold workshops in the prior to the event on how to look and dress like a zombie.

The BayPromoTeam is also discussing the feasibility of holding a fireworks display at the conclusion of the crawl.

While a start time is yet to be determined, Mr McCarthy said it will begin after dark at about 6.30pm.

“There’s already a lot of excitement about it online,” he added.

“It’s free, so it’s really easy to participate – just get some friends together and shuffle along the streets of Herne Bay.”

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