This year's Exmouth Festival has been cancelled due to Coronavirus fears.

The organiser, Exmouth Town Council, released a statement this afternoon outlining its reasons for cancelling the popular festival.

Exmouth Town Clerk, Lisa Bowman, said: "It is with heavy hearts that Exmouth Town Council must announce that our 2020 Festival which was due to take place from 22-25 May, will be cancelled.

"The decision has not been taken lightly but has been made in accordance with Government guidelines in relation to the current outbreak of Coronavirus/ COVID-19 in the UK and the need to avoid unnecessary strain on our public services such as the Police and NHS.

"All artists, traders and acts will be rebooked for the 2021 event. We realise that a lot of people will be disappointed but the health and well-being of our artists, musicians, volunteers and Festival supporters is always our priority.

"With less than ten weeks to go, any additional restrictions on the movement of people, or a nationwide ban on events being enacted in the coming weeks, would also have significant financial implications for our festival.

"The team has put a great deal of time, resource and energy into organising this year's event but we hope you understand and respect our difficult decision to act now, thus removing uncertainty, reducing the amount of outlay by our traders, suppliers and partners and helping to secure the event in future years."