Keighley Gala bosses are putting on a brave face in the wake of Saturday's rain-hit event.

A torrential downpour forced organisers of the annual charity extravaganza to curtail evening activities at Victoria Park and abandon the fireworks finale.

Although the washout has sunk chances this year of the usual gala grants to local causes, the committee says the event was not a disaster.

Chairman Brian Hudson says: "Everyone was absolutely fantastic - I have not heard a bad word. The floats were superb, lots of people lined the streets for the procession and there was some great entertainment into the early evening.

"Clearly we are disappointed the day ended as it did, but it's one of those things. It was pouring with rain and there were few people there, we had to close down."

He pays tribute to the large crowds who turned up at the park on Monday evening for the re-arranged fireworks display, which included some special features to mark the millennium.

Early this week, Mr Hudson and council officers met at the park to assess the best way of moving the funfair from the site, while minimising damage to the waterlogged surface.

They were keen to avoid a repeat of last year's furore when a row broke out over the state the park was left in following the funfair's departure.

On Tuesday winches were used to help haul some of the fairground vehicles from the grassed areas. Bradford council said this week that the park had suffered some damage, and that it would fund the repairs.

A spokesman told us: "Thanks to the co-ordinated efforts of our recreation team and the gala and fair organisers, damage caused by this year's appalling weather was kept to a minimum.

"There is some rutting and surface damage and repair work has already started. The ground conditions should be back to normal within a few weeks."

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