Malmesbury Carnival has been saved after a new committee formed to take on the event.

The future of the carnival was in doubt after all of its current officers gave a notice that they will not stand for re-election for 2019.

But thanks to a fantastic response from the town, five new officers have taken on the event and it looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

Forming the new committee is Paul Overton and Mike Harding, who will co-chair the carnival.

They will be supported by secretary Linzi Renshaw, treasurer Will Taylor and Alex Coode, alongside other members of the committee and trustees.

The former chair, deputy chair, treasurer and secretary of the committee all feel that it was time to hand over to someone else.

Officers Deborah Clogg, Kate Waterfield, Helen Mobley and Mary Calderbank all depart from the committee after years of hard work and dedication.

It all took place at a Malmesbury Carnival AGM meeting on Wednesday, December 5.

Wiltshire councillor for Malmesbury Gavin Grant said of the meeting: "The outgoing team were congratulated for doing a fantastic job on the carnival, many of whom have worked tirelessly for the last five to ten years and making it a profitable success each year.

"There was a fantastic response from townspeople to the call to save the carnival for future years and a new committee has been fully formed."

The carnival is ran by a volunteer committee, some of whom have been formally appointed trustees of the charity.

Although the this year's carnival programme has been shorter, the committee have been able to give out grants totalling £17,227.

A spokesperson for the Malmesbury Carnival said: "The carnival committee thanks everyone who put on an event, bought tickets or made a donation to help us raise and distribute these funds."

The carnival committee has allocated the money to 23 different organisations and projects. For a full list of all the community projects to benefit from the grants, go to bit.ly/2PtCBVv