A seaside food festival which last year drew thousands to County Durham's coast has been cancelled.
Seaham's inaugural Food Festiva l last year drew 14,000 visitors to the town, boosting the local economy by thousands of pounds.
Now, Durham County Council says it has taken the "sad but necessary" decision to call off the second year of the event to comply with new rules aimed at slowing the spread of Covid-19.
Everyone who booked a stall will be refunded, the council says.
The festival, which was due to take place in the town on June 13 and 14, joins Bishop Auckland Food Festival, which had already been cancelled for next month.
Gill O’Neill, the council’s acting head of culture, sport and tourism, said: “We have been monitoring the rapidly changing situation and guidance on Coronavirus extremely closely.
"This includes regularly reviewing our events programme and, it is with great regret, that we have decided to cancel Seaham Food Festival.
“This decision was not taken lightly, as we were looking forward to building upon the success of last year’s festival. We know how important events like these are to the county’s economy and the food producers that support it.
“However, our foremost concern is that the festival does not put at risk the health of our visitors, traders, chefs, partners, sponsors, event staff and volunteers. We must follow the Government’s guidance and if by making this decision we can help to slow the spread of Coronavirus and relieve the pressure on our emergency services, it is the right action to take.
“We remain committed to promoting County Durham’s wonderful food industry and look forward to working with traders and producers in the future.”
