Organisers of a popular event in County Durham have been forced to cancel the event - citing continued weather as the reason for the event not going ahead. 

Chester-Le-Street Steam and Vintage Fair was scheduled to be staged on Saturday (July 13) and Sunday (July 14) at Lambton Lion Park in the town.

But continued forecasts of rain and a mass downpour on Tuesday (July 9) has meant that organisers have had to turn to social media to cancel the event.

It was also noted that preserving the grass at the park was a top priority for the organisers. 

In a statement published online on Tuesday, organisers said: "We have had to make the very difficult decision to cancel this year's event.

"Rain overnight and all day today has affected the field badly, with standing water in various places and the ground becoming softer as the day goes on.

The forecast for the rest of the week isn’t looking great and we need to preserve the field for future years."

Instead, organisers have said that they are "exploring possibilities" for holding the event later in the summer.

The statement continued: "In the next week we will be contacting everyone who has paid for tickets, camping, and trade, and offering refunds/carry bookings forward.

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"We are devastated to have to make this decision, but we just can’t risk the field becoming impassable and getting vehicles in and out of the site safely is paramount."

The announcement to cancel the event comes after the setup of the Steam and Vintage Fair had started - with the social media page of the event posting several videos of HGVs moving items at Lambton Lion Park.

It was expected that the Steam and Vintage Fair would bring numerous vintage vehicles, stalls, entertainment, as well as food and drink to the region.