A FARMING show in Redesdale has been cancelled for a second year due to coronavirus concerns.

The Upper Redesdale Show, which takes place in Rochester on the last Saturday in September each year, is one of the oldest shows in Northumberland.

However, it is being cancelled for the second year running – and for only the third time in its 130-year history.

Malcolm Corbett, local resident and farmer, said: “The uncertainty that it wouldn’t be able to go ahead when the time comes round meant we have taken the decision early, as I think many other shows have.

“With a small show like ours, we can’t afford to go through the work and expense of putting it on, only for it to be cancelled at the last minute.”

Despite being a small show, the Upper Redesdale Show is a popular event on the calendar.

It is normally the last opportunity for the season for farmers to showcase their livestock and compete for a rosette.

Malcolm continued: “It’s a disappointment.

“People are ready to get back to a normal life and enjoy social events like this, showing their sheep or putting their produce in the industrial tent.

“However, we can’t take the risk.

We’re not out of the woods with this virus and we don’t want to be reckless. We’re coming into the second year of this virus, and life still isn’t getting back to normal.

“But we have to give it our best shot at getting rid of it then hopefully we can get back to normal.”

The only previous time that the Upper Redesdale Show was cancelled was in 2001, when an outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease swept across the United Kingdom.