THROWING objects of any kind either at or from the floats in Pewsey's famous carnival has been banned.

It means watching crowds won't be able to throw cash on to floats for charity collections.

Carnival chairman Richard Giles said the decision of the carnival committee had been taken for two reasons. He said one major issue that all carnival organisers would have to take on board was the possibility of someone suing them if an object thrown from or onto a float injured them.

Mr Giles said there had recently been a well-publicised court case where a person who was hit in the face by a water bomb at a South Coast carnival had successfully sued the organisers.

He said there was also the risk that someone could be hurt by an object.

"We have decided to have a total prohibition on throwing things either from the floats or at the floats," Mr Giles said. "We have been asking people not to do it for years but this year there will be a prohibition."

The carnival chairman said the ban would include throwing coins, a practise that Marlborough Carnival had stamped out some years ago.

Coins thrown by well-wishers have damaged paintwork on vehicles, dented band instruments and hurt innocent people.

Mr Giles said that last year Pewsey carnival introduced six clearly marked lorries in the procession for people to throw their coins at.

This had been highly successful and a similar arrangement would operate for the 2005 parade.

He said people could throw their coins at the collecting vehicles or continue giving cash to the recognised collectors, either with buckets or tins, or to the marshals who walk with each float for safety reasons.

The ban on throwing includes even apparently innocent objects like latex water bombs said Mr Giles because these could cause damage or injury.

He said: "It is no longer a polite request to those watching or taking part in the procession but a total prohibition on anything being thrown."

The Pewsey carnival parade one of the oldest in the county will be held on Saturday September 17, leaving the assembly field at Little Anne at 7.30pm.

Other events of the fortnight that will attract huge crowds and cause delays to any traffic going through the village will include the three-legged wine race and the Wheelbeero race.

Marlborough Carnival, whose procession has been discontinued this year because of apathy, banned any throwing several years ago.

Bands complained that expensive instruments had been damaged by coins the carnival committee banned the throwing of coins but, instead, sold bags of paper balls that people could throw at floats.

But it was pointed out children were darting in front of the flats to pick up the paper balls so it was decided to introduce a complete ban.