THE date's been set, the route's been marked and most importantly of all, the carnival queen's been chosen.

It's that time of year again for the final preparations to be made for the Titchfield Carnival which takes place on October 27.

Organisers The Titchfield Bonfire Boys are appealing to the community for help to put up bunting throughout the village.

And they would also like to hear from anyone who can turn up on the day to help act as marshals along the carnival procession route.

Dave McKay, vice-chairman of The Titchfield Bonfire Boys said the more volunteers who come forward the better: "We need marshals to escort the parade and to marshal the crowd and in the weeks beforehand we need help putting up the bunting and decorations."

Around 30 eyecatching floats are expected to weave their way through the village during the carnival that has been going since the 1880s.

The traditional procession of colourful floats will stick to its historical route again after last year's success.

In previous years the procession had broken with tradition and finished up on Southampton Hill because of safety fears.

This year's parade will finish outside the Wheatsheaf pub in East Street. All participants will then be bussed to the marshalling area while the floats travel up the A27 back to where they started at Bellfield.

This year's carnival queen will be Zoe Burns who will be accompanied by attendants Kerry Gibbons and Hayley Webb and princesses Alix Coburn, Aimee Matthews, Karina Heiford and Emily Stephens.

The fun starts at midday with both an afternoon and an evening procession followed by a grand firework display.

All the money raised will go towards local good causes.

If you would like to help the Titchfield Bonfire Boys call 01329 513951.