Ramsgate Festival organisers are continuing to battle to keep their promise to bring a 300 foot slide to the town.

Nearly 200 people who won a ballot to take a ride on the slide were left disappointed on Sunday, July 30 when slide suppliers pulled out last minute.

It was set to be the highlight of the Ramsgate Festival with 5,000 people entering all hoping to have a go on the super size slide.

The organisers of Ramsgate Festival today said: "Since the early hours of Sunday morning, 30 July, we have been working to resolve the difficulties with our supplier for the Ramsgate Slide event which was due to take place that day.

"As the situation is not yet resolved we want to share an upate of actions currently underway and basic background details.

"We confirmed our order for the Slide and paid a 50% deposit (£2,655 inclusive of VAT) on 11 July, agreeing that we would pay the balance on delivery.

"The cost included the operation of the Slide on the day by the supplier, expert in managing inflatable structures.

"After paying the deposit we had no reason to believe there was any problem with the order or any issues with the payment terms.

"After the company failed to deliver the goods or services on Sunday 30 July, notifying us at 11pm the evening before the event was due to take place, we requested to visit them at their headquarters in Staffordshire to see our slide, make the final payment and bring it back to Ramsgate for future use.

"We proposed making this visit on Tuesday 2 August but were advised, via email, that 8 August, today, would be the earliest the company could allow us access to their workshop.

Yesterday, 7th August, the supplier sent us an email which cancelled this visit, stating that they 'can't hold a demonstration tomorrow' and 'will be in touch as soon as possible'.

"We are planning our next steps and remain committed to delivering the Ramsgate Slide event to the town at a future date.

"Anyone with any further questions or information to share is asked to contact us directly by email info@ramsgatefestival.org, for attention of Teresa Askew, Festival Director."

The suppliers had emailed the festival organisation team at 11pm on Saturday, July 29 - the day before the slide event - to say they would not be turning up because the full payment had not been made.

At the time, Adam Faulkner, of the suppliers Bloon, said "Despite several reminders for payment, Ramsgate Arts Festival failed to clear their final balance of their inflatable slide.

"This is against our terms and conditions of sale for bespoke items and left Bloon no choice but to refuse delivery."