A popular motor event in Essex has been cancelled this weekend as the ongoing drought continues to affect the county.
The Fordham Vehicle Rally, an annual celebration of classic cars, tractors, steam engines, and motorbikes, has been forced to cancel this weekend’s event due to the dry conditions caused by the ongoing drought in Essex.
Organisers said the risk of fire was too great given the parched state of the rally site and surrounding land.
A spokesperson for Fordham Vehicle Rally said: "Due to the condition of the field and surrounding area, we will unfortunately have to cancel/postpone this years rally, the fire risk is too high, we do however hope to hold it later in the year.
"This is a decision made between us and the land owners and has been a very hard decision to make.
"We are sorry but the safety of everyone involved is more important than running the risk of ‘what could happen’.
"Watch this space, if we can move it to another date, you’ll be the first to know.
"Thank you all for understanding and we hope to see you all very soon."
The decision followed what was to be one of the driest Julys on record.
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England received just seven per cent of its typical rainfall for the month, with parts of southern England recording as little as one per cent.
The UK Health Security Agency has also issued an amber heat health alert.
Temperatures are forecast to reach 30C today and tomorrow (Tuesday).
Organisers have confirmed that stallholders will be contacted individually about refunds or rescheduling if the event is moved to a later date.
They have asked for patience while emails and calls are sent out.
No new date has yet been confirmed for the rescheduled event.
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