A MYSTERY donor has come forward to secure the appearance of the headline act for this year’s Dawlish Celebrates Carnival parade.

Carnival organisers had launched a fundraising campaign in a bid to meet the £4,000 cost to bring Luton-based Rampage Mas Band back to the town.

On top of the £500 raised through a Go Fund Me page and £1,000 donation from Dawlish Chamber of Trade, the anonymous donor pledged the remaining £2,500 to meet the bill.

The vibrant performance troupe, with colourful Caribbean-style costumes, has been a favourite at carnivals across the country and pre-Covid pandemic, had previously appeared in Dawlish.

Now funding has been secured, this will be the first time the group has performed in Dawlish since 2019.

This year’s procession will be taking a different format from previous years with the focus being on community groups.

A Dawlish Celebrates Carnival spokesman said: ‘We are getting entries for the parade so it’s looking good which is encouraging.

‘The line up will be different with no floats but we are making this a real community parade.

‘Many carnivals have folded during the pandemic and those who are still going don’t necessarily have the money for floats.’

The route has changed from previous years but walking entries will all head to the Lawn.

Entries won’t be judged but each one will receive a rosette for taking part.

Once there, Rampage Mas Band, which numbers about 30 people, will perform a demonstration.

That will be followed by a 35-piece Exeter-based Samba band called Street Heat.

The carnival starts on Saturday and runs until Friday August 19 which is the parade evening.