A FUNDRAISING drive has been launched to collect £10,000 to employ a professional team to help run next year’s Haworth 1940s Weekend.

The people behind the popular event say it has become so big it can no longer be handled by volunteers alone.

Andrea Leathley, one of the organisers, said: “Many people aren’t aware of the cost of putting on an event like this, and it has grown so big we now need professional help.

“This year we estimated we had about 36,000 people in the village, throughout the 1940s Weekend.”

Mrs Leathley, part of the team to take over the weekend after a previous committee disbanded, said she and the rest of her group want to employ about 40 paid workers, who will handle health and safety, traffic management, marshalling, and communications.

She explained this would give her and her volunteer colleagues certainty over how much assistance they can expect to receive during the event.

“With paid professionals it means we wouldn’t be let down, but it will take quite a bit of money,” she said. “We’ve come up with ideas on how we’ll raise it.”