THE organisers of a carnival have spoken of their relief after a town council awarded �1,000 to help save the procession.

The 52nd annual Stowmarket Carnival has been given a cash boost after the money was approved by the town council in a meeting last Wednesday.

Takings at last year’s carnival were significantly down after a deluge of rain lowered the turnout forcing the organisers to send out an appeal for help.

Vice chairman of the Stowmarket Carnival Committee, Claire Allard-Austin, said: “We had a meeting and we had to decide – do we cancel it or go ahead on a different scale?

“It was really worrying. We came to the decision to do it but on a smaller scale. The procession will be as big as we can get it. There’s nothing that we are not going to have from last year.”

The committee’s plea for help was also answered by listeners of radio station Town 102 and donations to a Facebook group webpage, which raised �750.

The committee was going to have to foot a bill for �500 for road signs advising of street closures.

But that cost has now been met after a generous donation.

The carnival will run over the weekend of July 14 and 15 at the town’s Recreation Ground. The event will start at noon on the Saturday and at 9.30am on the Sunday.