'Make or break' time for Shropshire parade
A "make or break" meeting will be held next month to decide whether a traditional parade, which celebrates a Shropshire village's mining heritage, should go ahead this year.
Organisers of St Martins' annual lantern parade said only three people turned out to a public meeting on Wednesday to attract new faces for the project.
It was decided to stage another meeting on April 15 and if there was not more interest at those talks, the lantern parade, which was first held eight years ago, will be scrapped.
Two half-term workshops which allows families to create lanterns for the parade could also be lost if there is not more public interest.
Anne Williams, one of the organisers, said: "We only had three people at the meeting and although they were really enthusiastic about the parade we do need more people to volunteer."
The parade is held on the Ifton Meadows nature reserve, formerly a slag heap for the coalfields in the area. Mrs Williams said: "It would be great shame to lose the lantern parade because it does recognise the history of the area.
"The next meeting will be make or break. If we don't have enough people, we can't run the parade."
People who need more details or who want to help but cannot make it along to the meeting are asked to contact (01978) 710327.
They can also contact The Friends of Ifton Meadows Facebook group page to register their interest.
