Somerset towns unite to stop unofficial traders taking carnival profits

Organisers say unofficial traders are taking business at local carnivals. Credit: ITV West Country

Fourteen Somerset towns are joining forces to prevent a large group of street traders from taking over their carnival parades.

They say the sellers rarely contribute towards the running costs of the festivals.

Bridgwater Carnival will take place on 4 November. Credit: ITV West Country

The group are preparing for Bridgwater Carnival in November where they plan to operate their own stalls that will rival the unofficial traders.

Organisers hope that by offering lower prices they will be able to attract most of the business from members of the public.

They can then put profits back into running the carnival.

The group of towns say they will use extra profit to run carnivals. Credit: ITV West Country

Another concern for the group is that people cannot tell which stalls are run by independent traders.

They say money spent at independent stalls is not used to improve the carnival.

To combat this, all official carnival staff will wear matching uniforms to make them easy to identify.

The 14 towns who are operating this scheme are: