THE rain stayed away from one North Yorkshire parade, which was under threat until a few weeks ago.

The Northallerton Carnival went ahead on the town's Applegarth field yesterday, with hundreds watching the It's a Knock-Out competition between local teams in the main arena, where a top prize of £200 was at stake.

Volunteers also manned more than a dozen stalls raising money for charity, while the Mayor, Sally Anderson, judged a fancy dress parade.

The event seemed on the brink of collapse earlier this year when several committee members retired and there were too few volunteers to take over.

However, Councillor John Coulson and Northallerton's deputy mayor, Jack Dobson, stepped into the breach temporarily to ensure the show would go on after marking its silver anniversary last year.

"We're hoping for a bigger event in 2002 to mark the Queen's Golden Jubilee so this year has also been a useful dry run," said Mr Dobson yesterday.

Events included a draw, with prizes donated by local companies, and performances by Northallerton Silver Band