A drive-in festival experience that was due to kick off in Kent later this month has been cancelled.

Drive-in Me Crazy, which organisers said was the county’s first social-distancing festival series, was set to come to Maidstone's Mote Park – but the coronavirus pandemic has put paid to it.

The event promised to bring a series of drive-in style shows to the County Town throughout the summer, with cinema screenings, as well as tribute and DJ acts.

It was set to kick off with an evening of comedy, Lark in the Park, on Thursday, July 30 featuring comedians Marcus Brigstocke, Stephen K Amos and Rachel Parris.

But in a statement on its website, organisers said they were "devastated" to announce all drive-in events at Mote Park had been cancelled "with immediate effect".

They said Maidstone Borough Council could "no longer" grant them permission to host the shows due to recent government guidance regarding outdoor events and that the "possible spread of Covid-19 through people raising their voices over loud music or laughing loudly may cause transmission".

The statement continued: "Despite all relevant safety paperwork being submitted, with no current concerns raised - only praise on how comprehensive our plan was - Maidstone Borough Council has decided to err on the side of caution, which we have no choice but to respect.

"It was our goal to deliver hope and joy, giving you guys something to look forward to."

"It was our goal to deliver hope and joy, giving you guys something to look forward to, whilst doing our bit in helping the local economy by investing in the town and creating over 100 jobs. All whilst ensuring the safety of our customers and staff, and delivering festival-quality entertainment for all.

"The events industry is one of the most affected sectors due to the ban on trade unlike pubs, which are now open for business."

The organisers are asking ticket holders to retain their tickets to be used at its rescheduled shows.

They added: "We tried and we failed but we will not be beaten - with your support we will pick ourselves up and go again in October or next year, and bring live music and entertainment to the beautiful Mote Park again."

For the event, ticket holders would have had their own fenced-off parking bay and would have been waited on throughout, ordering food and drink via an app.

Visitors would only have needed to leave their bay to use toilet facilities.

To find out more, go to drive-inmecrazy.com.

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