A POPULAR charity walk due to take place next month has been cancelled.

Colchester Centurion Rotary Club announced earlier this year it would take on the running of the town’s annual Starlight Walk, in aid of Colchester Hospital’s Cancer Centre Campaign.

It was after the previous organisers decided last year’s would be their final one as time commitments had taken their toll.

But the ten-mile night time stroll will not take place as planned on June 29, due to low take-up from participants.

Rotary Club president Tony Willson said it had received no response from any of the former participants, or any proposed ones.

He added: “It is probably because the ladies who previously ran the event announced last year was to be their final one and people must have either made other arrangements or just written it off.

“We have come in late in the day and so marketing was going to be difficult in the short space of time we allocated.

“However, we still want to try again next year when we can be more organised and start a lot earlier.”

The Starlight Walk raised £50,000 over its history and grew to attract thousands of participants.

The rotary club also wants the event to honour a former member who died last year.

Before his sudden death, Cas Morehen, the then president of Colchester Forum Rotary Club, suggested the town’s rotary clubs take over the event.

The Centurion group was due to lead on it with support from the town’s other clubs.

Nicky Withycombe and Karen Robertson, who founded the event, began with an eight-mile walk around Colchester which raised about £900.

The route has started from Playgolf Colchester on a Saturday evening in June and walkers have travelled through the town and back to the start.

The £3.25 million cancer centre is under construction and one of the steel girders had the words Starlight Walk painted onto it by the organisers.

There is £93,000 left to raise and once complete it will feature a chemotherapy, radiotherapy and haematology suite and a wellness centre.

The campaign to fundraise for the centre has been supported by the Daily Gazette.