VILLAGERS have today been urged to get behind their community’s biggest event of the year – or lose it.

Trimley Carnival is under threat and facing an uncertain future after its organising committee resigned, feeling it was time to hand over the event to a new and younger team.

They are now calling for new people to step forward, and promising to help them all they can to get up and running for the first year.

This summer’s event was cancelled after torrential rain left the events field waterlogged, but outgoing chairman John Sills said the catastrophe had nothing to do with the decision to quit.

“We have all been on the committee a long time now – my wife and I are in our mid-70s – and just felt it was time for some younger people with more energy and new ideas to take it on,” he said.

“It is a shame we could not have had one last wonderful day, but it was not to be,” he said.

“We have really enjoyed working on the carnival but after nine years we have decided it is time for us to step down and someone new to take it on.

“We really want to see it continue and we will do everything we can to help a new team get up and running, assisting them with details of all the procedures and contacts and so on.”

Mr Sills ran the event with his wife Patricia and treasurer Sylvia Ellis, who have both also quit, and as a committee they have raised more than �25,000 for charity from the event.

Even though this year’s event was not held, �2,500 will be given out to nine local good causes because of the money raised from the sponsored shields on lamp-posts in High Road in Trimley St Mary and Trimley St Martin.

? People wanting to get involved with the carnival can go along to the presentation at the Hand in Hand pub in High Road on Tuesday, December 11 at 7.30pm to find out more or call Mr Sills on 01394 210721.