A LAST-minute plea has saved a prestigious international event due to take place in Tavistock this summer.

The European Town Criers' Championships is scheduled for July, but Tavistock's crier Bob Rose reached a critical funding situation this week as promise after promise for cash failed to materialise, including a £2,000 request to West Devon Borough Council.

In desperation, Mr Rose appealed to Tavistock Town Council to underwrite a predicted deficit of about £1,500.

Mr Rose said: 'I'm disappointed with the response to date — it has been pretty poor. It's reminiscent of the Christmas lights saga all over again.

'I appreciate people don't like parting with money but if they want to encourage business in the town they ought to stump up something.'

Mr Rose said the previous championships in Bromyard, a town smaller than Tavistock, brought about 20,000 extra people into the area.

About 120 criers and their consorts have accepted the invitation to Tavistock, which makes the event one of the biggest of its kind ever staged.

'It's make or break time — if this doesn't go ahead it will be disastrous for the town,' he said.

Mr Rose was confident the council would get their money back, but he was 'hesitant' about going any further with the arrangements without further help.

Mayor Roger Mathew said: 'I think it would be a jolly poor show if the town council could not manage to spring a very trivial amount of money on a contingency basis.'

Cllr John Wright praised Mr Rose for the effort he had put into arranging the event.

'We have many advantages in this town — one of the main ones is to have Bob Rose as our town crier, a man who has given his time and energy to an extent that nobody has any right to expect,' he said.

Councillors agreed to underwrite the championships to a ceiling of £1,500 for which provision had already been made in next year's budget, and to 'make every effort' to promote the event.

After the meeting, Mr Rose said: 'I'm over the moon — this will be a great event for Tavistock which young and old will remember for a long time.'