GAZETTE & HERALD: THE face of Chippenham Folk Festival could change unless more sponsorship is found, organisers have warned.

This year's highly successful festival over the bank holiday weekend pulled in more than 30,000 people over the four days, said organiser Bob Berry.

But with administration costs rising every year and taking up a bigger chunk of the finances, Mr Berry said the festival committee was considering thinning out some of the smaller, unprofitable events in future.

He said: "It is a worry. We can't continue in quite the same way. We have to start looking in terms of what sort of festival we can have with the money.

"The last thing we want is to make this a commercial event. It is about the community, people having fun and the wonderful atmosphere."

The cost of the festival this year is likely to be more than £90,000 and organisers are hoping they will just break even.

Most of this money will be raised through ticket sales.

Local plastics firm Wavin are the only major corporate sponsor and give £5,000 towards the festival.

The Chippenham Borough Lands Charity gave £3,500, North Wiltshire District Council gave a grant of £1,500 this year and Chippenham Town Council contributed a further £1,000.

Mr Berry estimated the festival injected £250,000 to the local economy and said he could not understand why local businesses were not willing to dig deep and donate.

He said: "If I came into Chippenham and said I would like to run a festival that would make businesses £250,000 and would bring in 5,000 people a day and 20,000 people on the Monday, where everyone has great fun and there is never any trouble, it would be received as a brilliant idea.

"It could be because after 30 years they think that's what happens on a Bank Holiday Monday. It has worked in the past and we do not need their help."

The festival is organised and run by volunteers. There is a core of ten managers, who work year-round to organise the festival, a committee of 30 who work out the programme and a further 117 stewards who work four hours a day during the festival.

Mr Berry said he could make £25,000 in his job as an antique house restorer in the time he devotes to organising the festival every year.