MEMBERS of Ilminster-based Gemini Carnival Club have been left frustrated and angry after arsonists set fire to the club's money-making waste paper and cardboard collection.

Club members collect the paper and cardboard from outside people's homes and then put it into a skip before it goes off for recycling.

The more it collects and the heavier the pile is - the more money goes into Gemini's Carnival coffers.

But Gemini's Gary Bealey said they had been left dismayed when they heard that someone had deliberately set fire to the waste paper which was being stored in skips at the club's building headquarters in Longforward Lane between Kingstone and Seavington last Sunday (February 1, 2015) night.

"I don't like to talk about the money, but we're now going to have recoup what we've lost," he said. "It's very disappointing - even more so knowing that whoever did this knew what they were doing.”

The Fire Service was called out to deal with the situation, while anyone with information as to who may have caused the fire should phone police on 101.

Gemini is one of the top Carnival clubs in Somerset and is a regular prize-winner. Last year's tableau entry Transformers The Cube was another big success for the club.

PHOTOS - ABOVE: Gemini CC's award-winning tableau entry last year - Transformers The Cube.

PHOTO - ABOVE: Veteran Carnivalite, Gary Bealey, in "action" on Gemini CC's tableau Transformers The Cube durng the 2014 Carnival season.