A boaters group has announced that a popular festival will not go ahead this year.

The Maidstone River Festival has previously drawn hundreds of people into the town centre, with boats moaring up along the side of the River Medway.

But works on improving the Maidstone bridge system has scuppered plans for this year's event.

Towpaths along the river, where boats usually moor up, are set to be closed until the end of August while works continue.

New paving and planting is taking place on the paths as part of regeneration works, using money left over from the Maidstone Bridges scheme.

Works have already begun grinding out tree stumps and breaking existing paving down to replace it.

Now the River Medway Boaters have taken to Facebook to express their devastation at the loss of the festival.

A spokesman for the group wrote on the page: "The towpath and footpath are closed until late August. This will prevent any visiting craft from mooring.

"The dedicated committee are completely frustrated by the complete lack of any vision from Maidstone Borough Council (MBC).

They have a plan that highlights the use of the river to promote Maidstone, but this has been completely ignored.

"To all the companies and professional clubs and associations, the committee sincerely apologises, but thank you for your promise of financial support.

"Very many hours of personal time have been committed to this event, and we are devastated at this outcome."

In late-January the Heritage, Leisure and Culture Committee at MBC was pressed by Councillor David Naghi to pledge support to the festival.

Council officers, though reluctant to commit scarce resources, were ultimately convinced to support the event, which was scheduled for the final weekend of July.

However just a couple of weeks later, Cllr Naghi was called in front of the authority's policy and resources committee, which was questioning whether the council could commit to spending money on such an event.

Cllr Fay Gooch proposed a motion that: “The council will be pleased to consider a proposal for a River Festival or regatta when organisers provide a fully prepared and costed events plan, which must be cost neutral to the council.”

This was passed unanimously.

The festival committee agreed to submitting the plan, but have now been told the festival is a no-go.

Mark Smurthwaite, chairman of the Medway River Users' Association (MRUA), said: "MRUA has campaigned to get the river banks improved and at the end of last year we managed to get all the relevant parties around the table to discuss it.

"It was agreed that as there was money left over from the bridge works, some of it would be used to regenerate the riverside.

"We are obviously in favour of the works on the towpath, but the timing is awful."

Mr Smurthwaite said the boaters group has had no contact with MBC, and only found out about the four-month towpath closure when one of the volunteers went down to the river to look at electrical outlets for festival stands.

"The contractor was there and explained to us that work was going on until the end of August.

"We haven't spoken to Maidstone Borough Council about it as work has already started, so there's nothing we can do at this point," he explained.

MRUA isn't letting this affect future years' festivals however, and is already planning the 2018 event.

The chairman said: "We are in the process of submitting the events plan for next year's event. We do not know of remedial works which will need doing once this is completed, so hopefully there's nothing else to hinder it."

Maidstone Borough Council has been approached for comment.