Devon County Show cancelled

The Devon County Show has been cancelled in the interest of public safety.

The decision comes after visitors were turned away from the car parks earlier today due to concerns over the muddy conditions.

A spokesman said a combination of heavy use yesterday (Thursday) and the overnight rain had left the fields “decimated” making it too difficult to park vehicles in a safe and timely way.

Organisers have described the decision to cancel the show as “heartbreaking”.

Show secretary Ollie Allen said: “We are very sorry to have to announce that for the first time in our history that we have been forced to cancel the third day of the Show tomorrow (Saturday) in the interests of public safety.

“Quite exceptionally heavy rainfall immediately before and during the Show has turned the car parks into quagmires to the point where it would not be safe to allow people to park their cars.

“The board of the DCAA will be meeting in due course to consider all implications of this decision including the financial implications. Further announcements will be made in due course.

“It is heart breaking to have to make this decision but the appalling weather has left us with no choice. We are not the first agricultural show to have to cancel a day’s activities and we wont be the last.

“We will be considering the long term implications of this and the lessons that need to be learnt in due course. For the moment our thoughts are with our visitors, exhibitors, trade stand holders, sponsors and our army of volunteers for whom this will come as a bitter disappointment.

“We did everything we could to improve the state of the fields but in the end the intensity of the rainfall was too much.”