Longton village fete called off

1:55pm Thursday 24th April 2008

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A village fete in South Ribble has been shelved due to a lack of volunteers.

The 32-year-old Longton Village Fete, which attracted more than 1,000 people last year, has been axed as organisers say there is not enough support for the event.

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The departure of key players, including the fete's committee chairwoman, Doris Spence, led to the cancellation of the event on May 17 at the Longton Recreation Ground.

This also comes as the South Ribble Lions, who help to organise the event, announced that they are folding due to falling membership numbers. Geoff Evans, president of the South Ribble Lions said: "We only have a very small number of people who organise the fete and sadly two or three of the key players have had to withdraw for various reasons and so we just don't have enough people available for it to happen this year."

Mr Evans added: "We have the money to finance it but we just don't have enough people who are prepared to put a bit of time aside to help organise it.

"Hopefully by next year there will be more people willing to support it and it will be back on again."

Mr Evans also stated that the Lions, a 34-year-old charitable organisation, had also seen membership numbers decline over the years and would hold their last meeting in July.

He said: "Our membership numbers have been falling over the years so our members will move to other larger clubs.

"It is a shame because we have raised thousands for local charities."

Anyone interested in volunteering for next year's fete should email, mic0802@onetel.com