THE annual summer carnival procession in Brighton looks set to be saved after a leisure company stepped.

Organisers Brighton Lions said the procession was being scrapped after 36 years due to the soaring cost of providing safety arrangements, which had more than doubled from £2,000 to £5,000.

Brighton and Hove mayor Jenny Langston said the procession's demise was sad news for the town.

But after reading the Argus story, club and pub firm C-Side has offered to contribute £3,000 towards the cost and to provide stewards from its 450-strong workforce if necessary.

Now Lions president Bruce Nunn hopes the July procession, which attracts thousands of spectators, can be staged after all.

Mr Nunn said the parade had been scrapped because the police were for the first time charging £36 per hour for each constable on duty.

He added: "There just is not the money available.

"We've only got 34 members and the police are saying we have to have four stewards for each float."

About 25 floats feature in the procession from Hove seafront to Preston Park.

It means the organisers have to find 100 stewards to avoid incurring excessive police charges.

Martin Webb, managing director of C-Side, which runs 21 licensed premises in Brighton and Hove, including the Zap and Beach nightclubs, said: "The carnival procession is something I have attended since I was a tiny boy.

"We employ 450 people and I am sure we can find 100 stewards."

Lions president Bruce Nunn said: "I would be very happy to talk to Martin and see if we can come to some arrangement.

"It could be the lifeline we are looking

for.

"I don't think anybody wants to see the procession go but it is a question of safety and economics."

Mr Nunn said the main carnival in Preston Park was never under threat.

All proceeds from the event go to the Leo House Children's Hospice appeal.

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