AN investigation has been launched after three children were injured when they fell off a carnival float as it negotiated a roundabout.

The drama happened on one of the carnival procession floats as it manoeuvred around the roundabout which connects Needham Road and Gipping Way in Stowmarket at about 12.40pm on Saturday.

The organisers of the event said that two sisters and a boy, who is believed to be eight-years-old, were involved in the incident, which is understood to have happened on the Stowmarket Swimming Club float.

Denise Hutton, chair of the Stowmarket Carnival committee, said one of the girls had injured her wrist and the other grazed her leg. The boy hurt his elbow.

Lorna Marsh, spokeswoman for the East of England Ambulance Service, said: “We received a call at 12.44pm and a rapid response vehicle arrived at 12.50pm. One girl had a wrist injury and a boy had an elbow injury. Both were treated on scene by a paramedic, neither were taken to hospital.”

Lorraine Evans, 50, of Melford Road, Stowmarket, saw one of the children come off the float, she said: “The lorry came around the roundabout and the child fell into the road, the whole procession stopped. People were aghast.

“As we walked across we could see a child laying there, people were keeping back and made way for the ambulance, which got there ever so quickly.

“The police and ambulance turned up and held everything up for a long time. The float was then taken away.”

Mrs Hutton said a full investigation was being carried out and she had spoken with the health and safety officer who was in charge of the procession.

She added: “There were two sisters and one boy were involved. We were on the scene within two to three minutes and we interviewed everyone that we had to.”