THE new Dorchester carnival queen has been crowned – and she has a king for the first time.

Regal duo Hayley McNulty and Rossy Membury will take pride of place in the carnival procession next Saturday, June 16.

Organisers from Dorchester Round Table decided to have a king as well as queen for the first time this year to shake-up up the traditional contest.

Hayley and Rossy beat rivals in a series of rounds in a hotly contested competition – also new for this year – at Jago’s cafe to claim their thrones.

Rossy, 26, of Dorchester, who is a cleaner but also used to work at Jago’s, said: “I was chuffed to win.

“It was really fun and everyone was having a great time.

“It was great having all of my friends there and cheering me on.”

The eight contestants – four male and four female – faced six rounds of challenges before the panel of judges made their choices.

The heats included limbo dancing, intelligence tests, dressing-up, a dance-off, karaoke and a special talent round.

Self-employed beautician Hayley, 26, of Poundbury, said: “It was brilliant. I wasn’t going to enter but I thought I would just go for it.

“It was amazing. Everyone was just so supportive of each other. Thanks to everyone who came along.”

Hayley has already picked out her carnival dress and is looking forward to the big day.

Robert Matthews, who organised the event with Nick Grassby, said: “It was a great night. Hayley and Rossy are both worthy winners.

“We wanted to move away from the traditional image of the carnival queen and make the competition open to men as well as women.”

He added: “It was a fantastic event and I want to thank everybody who came to support it, including the crowd and the contestants.

“They all got into the spirit of it and we will do it again next year.”

Judges were Sue Cull, Scott Duncan and Andrew Grassby. Paul Jones was the compere and town crier Alistair Chisholm performed a special cry to hail the new king and queen.

The carnival fun continues this week with the annual four legged race around the town centre pubs on Thursday night and bands in the borough gardens on Friday evening.

The fun fair will also be open. The procession is on Saturday evening.

Medusa donated some of the prizes, including a four hour hair and pampering session for carnival day.