A CAROL concert was cancelled after a band booked to perform pulled out of the event, a council has revealed.

Carols in the Park was due to take place at the bandstand in Victoria Park, Nelson, on Sunday but had to be called off at late notice due to a member of one of the two bands falling ill.

Pendle Council refused to reveal the name of the band that had pulled out saying only that it was a rock group booked to play Christmas songs.

The free event run by Pendle Council was meant to run from 1pm till 3pm but singers turned up only to find the band were no where to be seen - leaving them to assume the event was off because of the heavy rain.

Council Leader Alan Davies and the Mayor of Pendle, Allan Buck, Whitefield Ward Councillor said they did not know that the event had been cancelled and why.

Head of Park Keepers Lee Johnson said: "I want to sincerely apologise for cancelling our Carols in the Park event on Sunday.

"We were forced to make a last minute decision when one of the two bands pulled out.

"To make matters worse, the appalling weather all week caused parts of the park to flood and the forecast for the weekend was poor.

"We simply felt the concert couldn't go ahead and I'm sorry that we weren't able to get this message out in time. I know a number of people were disappointed.

"In Parks we work hard all year round to put on lots of great events. We're sorry this one didn't come off."

A spokesperson for Pendle Council said:"The decision to cancel the event was made last minute.

"The park keeper was told that it had been cancelled and he went around the park on Saturday informing people of the cancellation.

"Also some of the Friends of Victoria Park turned up on Sunday to let people that the event was not on."