A CRISIS meeting is to be held following the worst Radcliffe Carnival in living memory.

Torrential rain, community apathy, and a catalogue of disappointments all combined to make Saturday's (June 6) event an embarrassing washout.

"I've been involved in the carnival since 1967 and I can quite honestly say that it has never been as bad as this before," said carnival committee chairman Ray Vevers.

The parade of carnival floats was once one of the highlights of the major day on the town's calendar. But this year saw the lowest number of entries ever winding their way through the rainy streets.

Bury South MP Ivan Lewis signed up to rattle a collection tin, but townsfolk failed to follow his lead, and only two-thirds of the tins were used.

"On the fund-raising front we will be well down this year, which means local charities will lose out," said Mr Vevers sadly.

Although he attributes most of the blame to the appalling weather, Mr Vevers also believes that the cancellation of the annual fun run, usually held just before the carnival, badly affected the turn-out.

A new national policing policy concerning safety at road events meant that local police refused to shut the roads and marshal the three-mile run - a popular feature of the carnival for the past 15 years.

Radcliffe Round Table reflected the bitterness of many with their float "Alternative Radcliffe Fun Run". No one was left in doubt who they blamed, thanks to the presence on board of two comedy policemen.

But despite its being one of the bleakest days in the history of the carnival, Mr Vevers is determined that the carnival will continue.

"I'll shortly be calling a crisis meeting of the committee to determine how we can prevent next year's carnival turning out the same way. But you can be certain we will keep going."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.