Bumper year for Malmesbury Carnival (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Bumper year for Malmesbury Carnival

ORGANISERS of this year's Malmesbury Carnival procession are celebrating a bumper year for the event.

Two Harry Potters, a working forge, and a Robin Hood were just some of the attractions in the parade, which saw 15 floats enter in the 51st consecutive carnival since it restarted in 1952, after World War II.

Carnival secretary John Lawton said: "We were delighted that the carnival parade did so well.

"The money raised by the carnival procession was £2,800, which was £1,000 more than last year, and of course we have had no costs to pay, as the carnival was sponsored by Dyson."

Malmesbury's Gable House Surgery, which won the best float last year with their M*A*S*H theme, took the award home for a second year with their Harry Potter float, complete with a Harry and a Ford Anglia on board.

Staff and children from St Joseph's School, who also used the Harry Potter theme, were praised by judges, who included Standard editor Peter Davison, for their efforts, but were just pipped to the post by the doctors.

The procession marked the culmination of a fortnight of varied events, which all sold out, much to the delight of organisers, who were forced to dip into their kitty last year, after a disappointing response to some of the events.

Mr Lawton said: "We want to say a big thankyou to the people of Malmesbury who have supported us, as well as all of our sponsors, who helped to make so much of the event possible.

Malmesbury mayor Cllr Charles Vernon said: "I thought this year's carnival float entries were really superb- the amount of effort that people put into the floats was tremendous.

"This demonstrates the community spirit we still have in Malmesbury."

Money raised during the carnival fortnight will be divided among local charities later in the year.