ONE of the county's most popular summer events has been called off, with organisers blaming high costs.

First held in 2006, the Lydd Airshow, which showcases historic planes such as Spitfires, drew 25,000 spectators last year and raised thousands of pounds for charity.

This year's airshow was planned to take place on June 28 and 29, but in statement released on Thursday, its management team announced that it would not be going ahead. The statement said that the decision had been taken after consultation with the managers of Lydd Airport, where the event is held.

Lydd Airport managing director Zaher Deir said: “Staging such a large-scale public event has been a huge organisational challenge and has been very costly.

"For the last two years Lydd Airshow has relied solely on Lydd Airport for its full financial support. To safeguard its future we recognised that a major sponsor was needed to help cover the cost of staging the airshow at Lydd but, despite our best efforts, we have been unable to attract a suitable sponsor.

“LAA is simply unable to keep covering the full cost of the airshow, so we have had no option but to cancel for this year.”

He added: “We will look into holding the airshow for 2009 provided we can secure sufficient funds. Looking further ahead, we would hope to run this popular family event every other year from there on.”

Lydd Airport is currently the subject of a planning bid to extend the runway and build a new terminal building. The owners are hoping to increase passenger numbers to 500,000 a year.

The proposals have proved extremely divisive in Romney Marsh, with many local residents, environmentalists and the owners of the neighbouring Dungeness nuclear power station opposing them. Other residents are strongly in favour of the plans, arguing that they will bring jobs to the area.

A decision by Shepway District Council on the application was expected on January 30, but has now been put off to an unspecified future date.

Lydd Airport's owners say they have invested more than £20m into upgrading its facilities. It is believed that this left less money to be spent on the airshow.