ACCRINGTON Carnival could be back on track after gaining a £2,000 fundraising pledge from Accrington Stanley.

Carnival organisers were dealt a hard blow when main sponsors North Lancs Training Group pulled out a few months before the bi-annual event.

In addition, Lancashire Police also said it would be unable to provide traffic management.

Organisers Accrington Lions vowed the show would still go ahead as they made plans for a scaled-back version.

Hyndburn Borough Council has offered funding for a traffic management company but without a main sponsor, the financial impact was expected to affect the next carnival and the event’s charity total.

The group are now celebrating after Accrington Stanley pledged to fundraise with bucket collections at home games in order to pay a £2,000 bill for publicity banners across the borough.

The club is also hoping to attract Premiership footballers to make celebrity appearances at the carnival.

The club’s Chief Executive Rob Heys said the organisers got in touch with Accrington Lions after reading of the problems in the Lancashire Telegraph.

He said: “We have a really loyal set of fans who like to rally around for commuity issues like this.

"I’m pretty confident we can raise the amount needed for the carnival’s publicity in the next few weeks.

"It’s important to so many Accringotn people and we are proud to support it.”

Lions chairman Tracy Simmonds said: “We are really pleased with the backing from the club.

"We make between £8,000 and £15,000 for charity depending on the weather, so losing a main sponsor would have cut our total significantly.

“The club will also be giving the winners of the charity football match free training sessions with John Coleman.”

Accrington Lions is still appealing for sponsors to back individual bands and performers.