Organisers have announced Funday Sunday will not be held in Whitstable this June.

Husband-and-wife team Trevor and Penny Thomas have thrown the popular annual summertime celebration on Tankerton Slopes since the early noughties.

The Thomases - founders of charitable organisation Whitstable Festivals and Events - initially held it on behalf of Whitstable Umbrella Centre and then, more recently, as an independent event to raise money for local and national charities and organisations.

The family-friendly event, which features rides, stalls and entertainment, usually attracts hundreds of visitors.

But now, Mrs Thomas, 69, has been forced to cancel this year’s event after chronic back pain left her reliant upon a wheelchair.

She said: “I would like to say a big thank you to everybody who has supported us and who has taken part in previous events, and a big thank you to people for turning up and who have given their help.

“We’re sorry we’ve been put in this position, and that people are going to be disappointed.”

Mrs Thomas said it is “very unlikely” Funday Sunday will be held at all this year, although she still hopes the event will be resumed in future years.