Vandals set carnival floats on fire

LIMASSOL Municipality has asked police to increase patrols where carnival decorations are on public display after two floats were set on fire last night.

A local kiosk owner noticed that the floats – sitting on a square in Limassol – were burning at around 9pm and alerted the fire services who put the fire out before it spread. The floats were completely destroyed.

The incident marks the fourth and most serious act of vandalism against carnival floats this year, Limassol culture official Kleonas Alexandrou said.

Alexandrou said that in the three previous cases, the damage could be repaired because people had hacked at floats, not set them on fire.

Such behaviour from “some brainless people upset everyone and especially Limassol municipality which has already asked the police to increase patrols in areas where carnival decorations have been placed,” Alexandrou said.

He added that the municipality “seriously studied the possibility of placing guards in certain spots”.

The floats depicted two famous Greek actors and were part of a set of fifteen offered as a gift to Limassol municipality from the Patras municipality in Greece, Alexandrou said.

“This decoration is for everyone and we must salvage it because on the one hand it’s part of this city’s history and on the other hand, fixing it costs a lot of money,” Alexandrou said.