MYSTERY surrounds the future of the Banbury Show the town's annual family day out in Spiceball Park.

People involved with the event have reported that it will not go ahead this year, but no official statement has come from Jo Dynan, the chief organiser.

Telephone messages to the secretary of the show have gone unanswered.

The show would have been held on June 11, with the regular features of It's a Knockout, motor show, and fun fair all scheduled as part of the programme.

Rotarian John Bennett, who organises the motor show, said this week that he had cancelled his bookings, and George Parish, a show committee member, said he understood the event had been cancelled but had not been told officially.

A spokesman for Banbury Town Council, which owns Spiceball Park, said he could not comment on the matter because he had not officially been told that the show was off.

The reasons for the cancellation are not clear, but high insurance costs, the charge for using the park, and health and safety issues are thought to be to blame.

The show has been Banbury's main summer event for around 12 years and included a livestock show after the town's cattle market closed.

It was also the venue of Scottish pipe band and Scottish dancing championships, but those events are now run separately.

The Banbury Show was essentially a charity event, and local good causes used it over the years to raise £1,000s for their funds.

Last year, more than 7,000 people paid to enter the show.