A CARNIVAL committee was dealt a blow when thieves stole their bunting.

Amesbury Carnival Committee was preparing the town centre for the upcoming event, when thieves stole £600 worth of bunting from a bin in Kitchener Road at about 9.30am last Sunday.

Each year, Amesbury Carnival raises money for different charities and this year all the money from the event will go towards the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).

The theft could have seen the charity receive £600 less than it could have, but the community rallied around the committee to replace the stolen goods.

Sam Gallacher, from the committee, said: “From our point of view its very disappointing. £600 is a lot of money.

“Luckily, we’ve managed to get sponsored by a local bodywork shop in Salisbury who saw the news and have given us £500.

“But it’s a very unfortunate incident and I can’t believe people would be as low as stealing bunting that’s meant to be used to decorate the town centre”.

The carnival takes place on Saturday, June 16.

The procession through the town is scheduled to leave Stonehenge School at 11.30am and arrive at Holders Road Field between 12.15 and 12.45pm.

Last year saw the event’s biggest turnout with the largest procession in the carnival’s history, and the organisers hope to repeat this again this year.

Wiltshire Police are currently investigating the theft with enquiries continuing.

Anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.