WAS he legit or was he a scammer? That is the question people in Woolaston want answered after a strange incident at the village carnival on Saturday.

There was delight that the procession had grown again this year and initially the man in the full, black and white checked body suit seemed like just like any other walking entry.

As the procession made its way around the village, he gave out leaflets challenging carnival-goers to guess his first name.

The prize in the £1-a-go competition was £100 and there was the promise of a donation to the village hall.

But suspicions began after he had left the carnival field, with organisers taking to social media to question whether the mystery man was a genuine fund-raiser.

A spokesperson for the carnival said: “We genuinely don’t know who he is.

“He gate-crashed our carnival, took people’s money and left pretty quickly.

“He was very entertaining. We’d like to think he is genuine, but we are not holding out much hope.

“We have a tiny organising committee and we were all very busy. It was only later that questions started to be asked.

“If he was local, he would have gone onto the stage, revealed who he was and everyone would have been happy,” they said.

The man has been in touch with the organising committee, asking for the hall’s bank details to make a donation.

The carnival spokesperson said he had not responded to a suggestion to meet or to make a presentation.

The mystery man contacted the Review by e-mail on Sunday, saying that the prize money had doubled to £200 but he did not respond to our questions.

Overall, the carnival was a big success with a cup and cash prize being presented to the winning float for the first time.

The prize, which was donated by the Netherend Inn, was won by the youngsters of the Wild Woolaston group.

There were also floats entered by Woolaston School with Jack and the Beanstalk, Woolaston Brownies with The Greatest Showman and one on a Dad’s Army theme by the Fairfield and Ball families.

Also taking part in the parade were classic cars, the Woolaston Bassett Hounds, llamas and horses and a samba band.

On the field there were stalls and music by groups including the Forest Swing Band and the Chepstow Community Big Band.

The carnival spokesperson said: “It was a very successful afternoon with many people on the field and very good prizes in the raffle.

“The procession is growing and we are encouraging families to enter a float.

“Early indications are that we will raise about £2,000, which will go towards the refurbishment of the village hall.”