THOUSANDS of pounds were raised for three local charities through last year's Wokingham Winter Carnival.

Last week, Wokingham Town Council was able to present a cheque for £2,000 to homelessness charity Wokingham in Need (WIN), and a further £2,000 to the town mayor's charities, Wokingham & District Association for the Elderly (WADE) and Keep Mobile, thanks to money raised through the annual street festival.

Wokingham town mayor, Cllr Peter Lucey said: "It was an honour to be presented with a cheque for £2000 for my Town Mayor’s Charities this year, courtesy of the Wokingham Winter Carnival Committee. The Wokingham Town Mayors Charities for 2017/8 are Wokingham and District Association for the Elderly (WADE) and Keep Mobile. Monies raised will be split equally between these two worthy causes: they do so much vital work to assist the elderly in our community.

“The 2017 Wokingham Winter Carnival was again a great success, and my thanks to all those who helped and took part, especially as we were in the middle of the Market Place renewal. Not only is the Carnival a wonderful event for townspeople and visitors, it raises thousands for charities and is a wonderful start to Christmas.

“We look forward to an even better Carnival this year [25th November 2018] when the new Market Place and Peach Place will be completed. The Wokingham Carnival Committee welcomes new members and if you would like to help, please get in touch!”

Chairman of the Winter Carnival Committee, Philip Mirfin said: "The 2017 Wokingham Winter Carnival presented the Wokingham Winter Carnival Committee with some unusual and equally unique challenges with the closure of the Wokingham Market Place due to the redevelopment of the Highways around the Town Hall and associated limitations on even pedestrian access. Our biggest disappointment being the lack of our annual parade.

“Despite those challenges, the people of Wokingham proved once again that they will allow nothing to deter them from supporting the Winter Carnival. Over the day and into the early evening they once again supported us in their thousands and so despite our experiencing additional operational costs, we were delighted to be able to support each of our three charities with cheques for £2000 each."