CARNIVAL floats will continue to travel at night under police escort in Dorset “for the foreseeable future”.

The news has been given a cautious welcome by carnival clubs and organisers in North Dorset – home to some of the country’s oldest carnivals.

Robert Walter, MP for North Dorset, led a delegation, which included the Assistant Chief Constable of Dorset Police, Adrian Whiting, to the London headquarters of the Department of Transport (DOT).

“Mr Whiting has given me his commitment that Dorset Police will continue to provide escorts for the foreseeable future because they believe that carnival is a vital part of the community.

“They have taken the view, and will continue to take the view, that because the carnival is for charitable causes they will not charge to escort the floats,” Mr Walter told the Daily Echo.

The delegation had hoped for a relaxation in guidelines that would have allowed carnival floats to be classified with fairground vehicles.

But news that a report from the DOT’s Road Transport Laboratory on moving wide vehicles at night is still a year away has prompted the police to extend their escort service. It is thought the report will recommend the addition of reflective panels to wide vehicles.

Kathy Webber, of the Revellers Carnival Club in Motcombe, said: “At least we will be able to travel and the escort will be free of charge. They talked about charging £200 a journey which we couldn’t afford,” said Mrs Webber.

Floats travelled in convoy under the escort, she added, creating frustration for drivers stuck behind. Before escorts were imposed, carnival clubs had travelled separately which a car at each end of the float, she added.

George Lambert, the chairman of the Gillingham Carnival Committee, said: “It’s not an ideal situation for the police or for the drivers of the floats.

“They said they would sort this out last year. Now we have to wait another year. There’s never been a problem with moving the floats.”