A CRISIS-hit village carnival will be discussed by councillors next week following complaints from residents about this summer's show.

Adlington Carnival - one of the premier and most popular in Lancashire - is already threatened by a lack of sponsors.

But now a 90-name residents' petition has added to fears over the future of the 25-year-old event.

The complaints allege disturbance, damage and drunkenness plus fumes created by diesel generators.

Chorley Borough Council's community services committee, which meets next Thursday, November 14, will particularly look at the carnival's continuing use of the Jubilee Playing Fields.

Committee chairman councillor Terry Brown said: "The carnival committee has put substantial investment into the site by laying on electricity and water supplied while Adlington Town Council has never indicated any major difficulties with the venue.

"However, it seems now that there are some concerns and these need to be discussed."

He added: "While I think everyone would accept that there is always going to be some element of noise and disruption, if this begins to have an undesirable effect, then as a council we have got to look into the matter and that is why this issue is being brought before the community services committee."

Carnival press officer Colin Prescott said its committee would meet to discuss the complaints before next Thursday.

He said: "To be quite honest 90 signatures out of a village of 6,000 people is a very minuscule percentage really."

He added that unforeseen problems did occur, that organisers could not legislate for everything and that the level of co-operation with all parties was high.

"We are very approachable. If people will tell us the problems we will try to sort them out.

"If it came to a threat to the carnival this committee will fight tooth and nail to keep it going. We are provisionally booking artists for next year and even thinking as far ahead as the Millennium."

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