One of the biggest annual events in the Haslemere calendar is off the menu as the town’s food festival has been cancelled.

Six months of organising and preparation had gone into this weekend’s event with dozens of stalls and hundreds of people set to converse on Lion Green.

But the combination of bad weather and heavy vehicles being driven on the green last weekend has left a large part “damaged, rutted and unusable”.

And with not enough space being left behind to accommodate all stallholders, the decision to cancel this Saturday’s festival was made following a meeting between the volunteer committee and town council.

The former reported in a statement: “The Council is unable to get its grounds care contractors to do the necessary remedial work by the weekend, which also leaves us with health and safety concerns.

“The members of the committee would like to offer their sincere apologies for the obvious inconvenience this will cause all stall holders.

“Once again, please accept our apologies and we sincerely hope that we will see you all again in 2026.”

More in next week’s Haslemere Herald.