ANDOVER will be enjoying carnival fun and a procession next year after residents turned up to give the event their support at an open meeting in Andover Guildhall on Tuesday evening.

Round Tabler Mark Bladen, who organised the event in 2000 which raised £3,000 for charity, stepped into the breach when the last-minute cancellation of this year's street fun angered people who had already built floats and made costumes.

Lack of cash sponsorship and manpower to marshal the event meant that Andover Round Table was forced to take that unpopular decision.

Mark Bladen promptly said it was important to give carnival and residents one more chance.

"We had to pull the plug this year because we could not guarantee safety to police standards and as we are a registered charity we could not run the risk of losing money after failing to attract sponsorship," he said.

"I am now excited and confident about an event for next year after Tuesday's meeting and I am saying to everyone 'If carnival 2002 does not go ahead, I will leave town'."

He described Andover Round Table as acting as the custodians of the town event for the past 30 years after organisers in the early 1970s appealed for extra help.

The Round Table is prepared to continue its support but also hopes that additional committees will be formed so that the event can grow bigger and the burden of organisation can be shared.

"That has happened with the annual fireworks display," Mark Bladen pointed out. "We ran that for charity and now it has become bigger, it is staged at Thruxton and we share the organisation with Andover Rotary Club.

"We hope the same sort of situation can follow with carnival.

"There is a lot of personal fun and satisfaction to be had from being involved with the carnival.

"It is really too big for the Tablers, there are only about 12 of us, so we are looking for more support and interest to build it up."

The carnival date and the theme will be made known shortly as soon as they have been finalised.

And pledges of help and crucial financial support would be welcomed.