TROWBIRDGE Carnival will not run this year unless more people join the organising team, the committee chairman has warned.

After three of last year's committee resigned due to personal reasons, there are now only four people on the team which organises the annual event, three short of the minimum requirement.

Committee chairman Maryrose Mantel is pleading that people donate their time to save the event.

She said: “There are no two ways about it; the carnival is in danger.

"It would be wonderful if we could get three or four new committee members before the next meeting, which is on Wednesday, February 8.

“We especially need a new treasurer as an organisation cannot function properly without one. They do not need to be fully qualified, just happy and able to work with figures.

“We need a wide range of skills and experience on the committee but the most important thing people need to have is enthusiasm and a desire to see the carnival continue.”

Mrs Mantel thinks it would be a ‘travesty’ for the town if the carnival can no longer run.

“It’s absolutely imperative that we keep it going and I will do everything I can to keep it that way, but we cannot do that with four people,” she added.

“The carnival attracts around 15,000 people every year and the greatest thing about it is the fact it brings the whole community together. People of all ages turn out on the evening and it creates lasting memories.

“In recent years we’ve seen an increase in the number of spectators and the number of entries, particularly the big floats which bring the wow factor, so there’s clearly still a strong passion for it.”

Caroline Sharley, general secretary of Castle Cary and Ansford’s carnival committee, also on the Wessex Circuit, was sad to learn of the news.

She said: “We’re sorry to hear that Trowbridge’s carnival is under threat and we hope they can find more members; it would be a great shame if it couldn’t run this year.

“Our committee is very healthy at the moment but we have found it’s becoming harder and harder to organise the procession due to costs for road closures and insurance increasing.”

Contact Mrs Mantel on 07866698278 if you can help save the carnival.