COLNE Gala will not be held this year after a plea for last-minute volunteers to help organise the annual event fell on deaf ears.

The gala's organising committee appealed to local people to come forward to join them in staging the event in Alkincoats Park in June.

But despite the call, no-one turned up at the committee's meeting at Colne Conservative Club last night and the members reluctantly called off the event.

Committee chairman, Maureen Regan, said: "There isn't going to be a gala this year, sad to say. I really did think we would get some response from people, but no-one came forward. You have to weigh up all the work involved in getting the gala organised and half a dozen people on the committee can't do that, it's as simple as that. We've all got other work commitments."

Although the gala is enjoyed by hundreds of people, no-one was prepared to answer the committee's call for help.

"It's very sad, but there's nothing else we can do," said Maureen. "For the past two years we've called in help on the day to make up numbers, but it's the run-up to the gala where we need help now.

"We've disbanded the committee, but some of the members might come back on board if a new committee is formed in the future. It would be nice to think it could happen. We've got to finalise the accounts. There will be some money left over, not a lot, which will go to charity."

The gala began in 1958, but was stopped in the mid-1970s because of lack of support. It restarted in 1992.

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