BETTER late than never – 100 children donned fancy dress to keep up a long-established Burton tradition that was scuppered by wet weather earlier in the year.

The village’s annual Scout Carnival was originally due to take place on the first Saturday of July, but had to be postponed the night before because heavy rain had left the recreation ground ankle deep in water.

But organisers chose the new date well, with the rescheduled event blessed by blue skies and sunshine.

Crowds enjoyed the walking procession around the village and events at the Martins Hill Lane recreation ground, where Christchurch Mayor Peter Hall judged the entries. With the Olympics still fresh in people’s minds, the Cubs dressed as Team GB.

Entertainment came from Wessex Majorettes, zumba, and the young members of the Kaleidoscope Dance Group, while busy trade for the barbecue, bar and strawberry cream teas boosted takings.

Organiser Emma Kearney said: “It went very well. We took £3,200, so the profit should be a couple of grand. I’ve been doing this for 12 years, but the group has been going for 80 years and has had some sort of carnival pretty much all of that time.”

l Volunteers at the carnival and a sponsored litter pick earlier in the day were collecting signatures opposing suggestions that Christchurch council could allow development on green belt land.

Parish council chairman Judy Jamieson said she expected more than a thousand people to have signed by Saturday evening.

“Once you have built on green belt, you can never get it back,” she said.