Thousands flocked to Richmonds Victorian evening last Friday, despite threats of the event being axed after 19 years.

Organisers were told they would have to foot the £5,500 bill for the council to close the road, re-direct traffic and provide safety marshals. Richmond Council said its financial situation made it impossible for it to close the road for free, despite having done so in previous years.

But the organisers, who already have to raise £11,000 to put on the evening, said they couldnt afford these extra costs, and so the evening was moved from George Street to Richmond Green, and the historic carriage parade along the road was abandoned.

Chairman of the organisation committee Liz Carran said: I was disappointed we couldnt have the parade this year because so many people love seeing the Victorian costumes and the beautiful horses.

But I was determined the evening would go ahead because so many charities benefit from it each year and we couldnt let them down.

Charities, including the RNLI and Amnesty International, were invited to set-up stalls free of charge.

The Victorian evening was threatened two years ago after Richmonds Chamber of Commerce decided to stop funding the event to invest the money in recruiting a town centre manager.

But a group of loyal volunteers took over the organisation of the evening and asked local businesses for sponsorship to fund the event.

A petition, signed by 650 people on the night, will be presented to Richmond Council in the hope it will reconsider charging for the closure of the road next year.

The event is so important for the people of Richmond, said Mrs Carran. Without it wed have no festive spirit. Hopefully, the success of this years event, along with the petition, will bring it home to the council just how important community spirit is to the people of Richmond.

Last week the Comet reported the Hampton Hill Christmas procession faces the axe after organisers were told they too would have to pay a bill running to thousands of pounds if they wanted to close the road as they had done for the past 30 years.

Unable to afford to close the road, and with nowhere to relocate, the parade took place alongside the traffic but children were left disappointed when queues of buses and cars meant they couldnt see Father Christmas on his sleigh.

Roger Hitchman, organiser, said: The council is very anti-community.

Theres too much red tape and its spoiling our events.

They seem to be happy enough to slow down the traffic as much as possible with lights and speed humps, but as soon as we want to close the road to do something for the community, they want to charge us.

By.Caroline Dutton