A CLASSIC bike show due to be staged next month has become the latest victim of the foot and mouth outbreak.

Organisers of the annual Hoghton Tower Sprint have been forced to cancel after taking advice from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food.

The show, due to take place on April 22, is just one of a series of planned events at the historic tower near Blackburn that have had to be cancelled because of the presence of Foot and Mouth in the locality.

East Lancashire has three cases of the disease, two in Great Harwood and one in Withnell.

The Sealed Knot Muster, which should have taken place over May Bank Holiday weekend on Sunday 27 and Monday 28, has been scrapped as has the annual dog show supposed to take place over three days from Friday June 1 until Sunday June 3.

Visitors to the April 1 Doll's House Fair will only be permitted to enter the house for the event.

The house at the tower remains open for functions, such as weddings, but visitors are not allowed to walk in the grounds and have to enter the building across a disinfected mat.

Ironically, the 14th century tower is famous as the site where James I knighted a succulent joint of beef Sir Loin - now a victim of the farming crisis.

The events earn the stately home thousands of pounds each year.

The motorbike sprint started life as a Vintage and Classic event many years ago and attracts enthusiasts from the length and breadth of the country.

Since the 1940s, when the historic house and its grounds opened to the public, thousands of people have journeyed to Hoghton Tower during the summer months. But this year visitors could be limited to the house only due to the foot and mouth crisis.

Administrative director at Hoghton Tower, Carol Chalmers, said: "It's sad that we have to cancel these events but we are taking strict advice from MAFF.

"We don't open until July but we are hoping to open at Easter for the house. We imagine that this is going to cost us thousands."