NORTHUMBERLAND’S largest agricultural show, which pulls in tens of thousands of people from across the North-East, has announced it will not go ahead this year.

Plans for agricultural shows across Tynedale have come to a halt after the government issued advice against large public gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak.

A number of summer shows, including the popular Northumberland County Show, have been cancelled as a result.

A statement from the county show committee said: “To avoid any uncertainty or speculation, we have taken the decision not to hold the event later in the year.

“It seems clear that the spread of coronavirus at large public gatherings poses a significant health risk and we fully comply with the government’s guidelines to defeat this disease.

“We will instead be putting all of our efforts into the 2021 event, planned for May 31, with the help of our supportive partners.”

The popular show, which brings competitive livestock classes of cattle, sheep and horses, as well as live bands and fun fairs to Bywell, near Stocksfield, has only ever been cancelled a handful of times in its 190-year history, said show chairman Robert Raine.

He continued: “We will work through this together, as always, and will have a celebration of our achievements on the other side.”

Event organisers for Slaley Show also announced the event will not take place this August

Another casualty was the Allenheads Show, due to take place on September 5, which revealed it could not be held this year as it relied largely on fund-raisers throughout the year to make the event possible. However, all fundraising activities over the coming months had been cancelled due to coronavirus.

All other agricultural shows across the district plan to go ahead as normal, although this is subject to change.