THE not-for-profit carnival art company behind spectacular light festivals in Oldham, Mossley and Ashton is under threat of closure following a mill blaze which destroyed its unique giant puppets.

The £125,000 creations made by Global Grooves have wowed thousands at Oldham Illuminate, Mossley Light Festival and the Tameside Winter Carnival in Ashton but they were reduced to ashes in the fire which swept through Ray Mill in Stalybridge last month.

Based at Vale Mill in Mossley, and run by chief executive Leon Patel, Global Grooves is a community enterprise with a staff of six, but it works with more than 100 artists around the country, working in schools and runs a national youth apprenticeship scheme from Oldham.

Mr Patel said the fire had destroyed the puppets which had taken hundreds of hours to make and the company would not be able to run the Mossley Light Festival – alongside the Christmas lights switch-on event – on November 24.

Similarly, its participation in the Tameside Winter Carnival alongside Ashton’s Christmas lights event, the Christmas Reindeer Parade in Oldham, Oldham Illuminate next February and the summer festival in Oldham, is unlikely.

Mr Patel said the company’s annual turnover is £250,000 but that income is dependent on earning potential at events in the UK and across the globe. Without the puppets, the business cannot thrive.

“The income we receive is from the hire of our stock,” he said. “So without the stock we are in trouble.

“The fire was a major event. There are only two walls of the building left. It was a tragedy for all of the 20 businesses based at the mill. We had the entire top floor of the building.

“It’s a real shame for Mossley. About 40 per cent of the entire town was involved in the last light festival, which was subsidised by the profits from the puppets and the Lottery.

“In total about 4,500 people were involved in the last festival, either as artists and producers helping with our puppets or just enjoying the show.” Mr Patel said they had raised £8,000 but the business needed £20,000 to get back up and running for summer.

“We are looking towards our partners, other businesses and crowd-funders to help us get back on our feet again,” he said.

Global Grooves has worked on carnivals across the UK and in Gambia, Singapore and New Zealand.

The company was launched by Mr Patel, aged 38, and co-founders Holly Prest, aged 35, and mentor Iain Mellor, aged 63, 13 years ago.

It recently recruited co-ordinator Eraldo Marques, who has a background working with street children in Brazil.