POTENTIAL pinball wizards filled Margate Old Town when the flashing lights of the Pinball Parlour came to town.

Pinball tables, jukeboxes and games from the vintage amusement arcade in Ramsgate appeared at the Pie Factory as part of an exhibition brought to Margate by the Dreamland Trust.

Visitors tested their flipper fingers against arcade games from the 1950s to the 1990s, including Rollercoaster, Star Wars, and HurdyGurdy – the same table played on by the Champ in The Who's rock opera Tommy.

Bumpers buzzed and tables tilted as players competed to beat each other's high scores and see their name in lights on the backglass.

Pinball Parlour in Ramsgate, which supplied the games, could help to create a permanent display of the attractions when the Dreamland vintage theme park opens in 2012.

Harry Heath, 18, whose father owns Pinball Parlour, has been playing since he was 7.

He said: "The heritage theme park would suit us much better than your standard white knuckle thrill-fest thing. Dreamland's going to be a vintage theme park, with proper vintage rides and games."