ILKLEY Carnival 2018 has raised £15,000 for the local community with more than 9,000 people through the gates and record breaking numbers in the spectacular TV-themed parade.

The success of the May Day event has been announced by chairman of the committee of volunteers, Andrew Stacey and praised by members of the Burley Scout and Guide group who, as ‘primary beneficiaries’, receive half the event’s profits to help cover the installation of facilities in their new scout hut.

The remaining £7,500 will be split between local charities and organisations who helped out on the day.

Andrew said: “We had another excellent year at Ilkley Carnival, with parade participation topping 1,200 people which is a first in carnival history! The entire committee are absolutely blown away once again by the community spirit.

“We’re delighted to donate funds to Burley Scout and Guide Group as we know that furnishing the new scout hut is a huge priority for the local community with the facilities set to be enjoyed by many generations of local people. We’re also delighted to have such a significant sum to distribute out amongst other local groups whose volunteers contributed hours of hard work ensuring the logistics on carnival day – which is fast becoming one of Ilkley’s biggest annual events - went smoothly.”

With an incredible array of home-made costumes from flamingos to royal family members showcased in the ‘TV Programmes’ themed parade, All Saints primary came out on top with their ‘Blue Planet’ inspired display.

Talking about the impact of the funds raised on the Burley Scout and Guide Group hut, guide leader Sue Vint said: “We feel extremely honoured to receive this donation from Ilkley Carnival, we have been working on finishing our new building for over a year now and this money will go towards filling the hut with facilities and activities for not only our scouts and guides to enjoy, but for many more local people and groups.

“Ilkley Carnival is an incredible event and 2018 has to go down as one of the best we’ve ever been involved with. We can’t thank the committee enough for choosing us to be the primary beneficiary and as the popularity of the carnival increases, I’d certainly encourage more groups to apply for beneficiary status in 2019 and to volunteer their support to help make it the community event it is.”