Only on Sheppey could everyone fall in love with zombies.

As the winter sun glinted off the sea, an army of the ‘undead’ with gruesome makeup stalked Sheerness seafront in search of brains to eat.

On Saturday there was plenty of potential food for them to snack on as more than 2,000 Facebook fans of the Sheppey Zombie Attack page descended on the town.

The mysteriously-named organiser Bertie Crablegs admitted: “Overall, we think there were more than 4,000 zombie fans in the town. It exceeded our wildest expectations. We were very busy but on the whole, a good time was had by all.”

Thousands of ‘survivors’ stretched back along the promenade near K’s Kasino in Marine Parade as staff based at the Seal (Sheerness Enhancement Association for Leisure) headquarters handed out maps and green tags for the zombies to grab.

Then it was every man, woman, boy, girl and zombie for itself as the survivors made their way to a safety ‘containment area’ at Beachfields by the sandpit. On the way, zombies lay in wait.

Screams echoed along the seafront as petrified pedestrians scampered onto the beach to escape. Some were successful. Some ended up in the water. Many ended up in the clutches of the ‘undead’.

Mr Crablegs said: “We told the zombies not to touch anyone but unfortunately some became over excited.

However, the marshals from the Sheppey Event Marshalling Unit (EMUs) were very good, considering the number of people we had. We even had an off-duty police officer join in to lend a hand.”

People came from the mainland including Sittingbourne, the Medway Towns, Ashford, Sussex and even Gloucestershire. But mainly, it was Sheppey’s big day.

• Don't miss this week's Sheerness Times Guardian for more pictures and reaction.