Decision to scrap Muston Scarecrow Festival was due to lack of volunteers

The event had been going on for 19 years and was very well-liked and well-supported by both residents and visitors.

However, despite its popularity, finding enough volunteers to help organise and manage the festival had become a struggle and organisers and residents were forced to put an end to it.

Organiser Councillor Godfrey Allanson said: "Sadly we need to face the reality. The festival has always been fantastic and well-organised but there's a lot of hard work that goes into it and recently we have been struggling to find enough volunteers to manage the car park, cater the village and even make the scarecrows.

"The people that got involved with it at the start are now well into their 70s and 80s whereas some teenagers that used to look after the catering are now into work.

"Yesterday we had 30-40 people turn up to our meeting, which is a good turnout for a small village, and the majority of those people felt that it was better to go out on a high and let the festival be remembered as a successful event rather than let it decline and become a shadow of itself."

The event attracts thousands of visitors each year with many planning their trips to the coast around the festival itself.

Fears are that without the event tourism to the village will decline.

Cllr Allanson added: "I'm sure it will impact tourism but with what we raised over the years and the amount that we saved we are still going to be able to support activities in the village for the next few years."

Yesterday Annual General Meeting decided this year's festival was the last one.

However, the Committee behind it will stay in place to organise other initiatives.

Muston Scarecrow Festival is axed after 19 years