WHAT do you give sharks as a birthday treat? A birthday cake of course.

And the "residents" at Blackpool's Sealife Centre certainly got their teeth into it when Jimmy Cricket, from the Grand Theatre's Comedy Bonanza 2000, fed them a special cake made of fish and prawns to celebrate the attraction's tenth birthday.

The centre, which has attracted more than five million visitors since it opened, celebrated its first decade in style by creating a carnival atmosphere with face painting, balloons, a free prize draw and giveaways throughout the day.

"The centre seems to be more and more popular by the year," said boss Della Belk.

"We always unveil a new feature before every summer season and we are delighted to have won the best visitor attraction for the last two years running," she said.

The centre's thousands of sea creatures have munched their way through an estimated 120,000lbs of fish food, and a staggering 973 million litres of Blackpool seawater has been pumped through more than 50 display tanks since its opening in 1990.

Pictured here celebrating l-r are Doug Don of the aquarist team and Jimmy Cricket.