A POPULAR beer and music festival which takes place in the Blackdown Hills has been cancelled this year.

Organisers of the Blackdown Beer and Music Festival which takes place at Cherry Hayes Farm, Smeatharpe, every August, have announced no event will be taking place this summer.

The festival, which sees event-goers try a variety of different beers and other alcoholic drinks while dancing to live music, has experienced some financial troubles in recent time.

Last year's event 'just broke even', while the rainy event the year before saw them make a £7,000 loss.

A spokesman for the event said: "As we approach the summer and people plan for their year ahead, the team behind The Blackdown Hills Beer and Music Festival thought it would be the correct time to announce that we will not be putting on the event this year.

"It is with sadness that we are announcing this and have taken much deliberation over the decision. We all love the festival, as we know many of our supporters do.

"Not only is it a great social gathering for friends and family but consistently raises much needed funds for a wide range of deserving causes, primarily music related.

There are many reasons that we have come to this decision and we wanted to take the time to explain why this has come about. The previous two years of poor weather and even poorer attendance has topped the list. We made substantial losses of £7,000 for the 2017 festival and just broke even on the 2018 festival. "

Festival goers can camp at a nearby site, while the event takes place in a field. Although a tent can cover the stage for live music, damp weather can dampen spirits.

The organisers said they are taking a year off to explore ways to safeguard the event for the future in the event of 'adverse weather'.

The spokesman added: "The festival, in its current format, costs a substantial amount to run, even before we have opened the gates. This means that a weekend of adverse weather can risk the whole festival.

"Although we are not alone in being impacted by the weather, we do need to take responsibility for the future of the festival to ensure its ongoing success. For this reason we are taking a break from the festival for a year to give us a chance to adapt the format to reduce the risk and better ensure we can always support the great causes that have come to rely on our funding.

"We’d like to thank all of the volunteers that help in so many ways each year and ask that you don’t forget about the festival during this year’s break.

"We promise to be back in 2020 with all the brilliant things you love about the festival and hopefully some more positive changes that will ensure the ongoing success of the festival for future generations on the hills."