Appeal to keep Willenhall Carnival a-'float'

The annual event, which takes place in Willenhall Memorial Park on Saturday, June 13, has been running for more than 40 years and has become a tradition in the community.

It is ran by a dedicated team of eight volunteers who are asking local companies to donate two trucks to be decorated and used as carnival floats on the day, after their previous sponsor went into liquidation.

Wayne Palmer, chair of the committee, said: "We used to be supported by Aspray who would donate two trucks for us to use, but they have now closed, so now we are looking for other companies to help.

"We need two 7.5 tonne curtained side lorries. One of them will be used by our royalty who decorate the floats before they are driven around the streets of Willenhall and the other is used as a stage in the park for local bands and artists to perform on.

"We've appealed on social media but we need this specific type of lorry, not one with rigid sides.

"The carnival will still go ahead, but it would really dampen the day for the royalty who will have worked so hard fundraising since September for them not to have their own float to decorate and celebrate would be a shame."

Up to 4,000 people attend the event which Wayne and his team want to preserve for the future generations.

He added: "It is a dying tradition, there are not a lot of other places in the West Midlands that hold carnivals anymore.

"It's a big family event, we put on more than £2,500 worth of activities on the day and 12 months of planning goes into each one and we want to keep the it going."

Anyone who would like to get in touch with Wayne to help with the appeal can contact him on 07500 877230.