Last-minute festival axe leaves sellers scrambling

Baker Jeni Ball said she had made 600 brownies for Saturday's festival

Stallholders have been left scrambling to sell their wares after an annual winter festival was called off with less than 24 hours' notice.

Penrith's Winter Droving was cancelled earlier due to forecasts of high wind gusts in Cumbria.

Festival director Adrian Lochhead said Saturday's event had many temporary structures such as gazebos and that if anyone got hurt it would be his fault.

Prospective seller Jeni Ball said she had made 600 brownies and had been "busy baking for the last couple of days non-stop".

Ms Ball said when she heard the festival had been cancelled, the "bottom" had dropped out of her "world". "We had just been to collect the hire van," she said.

She said the focus was now on "rehoming" the brownies.

Harriet Pugh said she understood that "safety comes first"

Another prospective seller Harriet Pugh, the manager at Sweet Treats in Kendal, said the team already had cakes "baked and sliced and ready to go".

She said she was "quite disappointed" in the last-minute decision to call off the festival, but said "obviously safety comes first".

She said Lakes Brew Co in Kendal had offered to let her sell the cakes at the brewery on Friday evening.

Bakers have also taken to social media, as they frantically try to sell their surplus stock.

Mr Lochhead said he acknowledged the "terrible" burden the decision to cancel the festival had put on stallholders and performers.

Eden Arts, which organises the festival, said professional health and safety advisors it had contracted had been monitoring wind gusts all week.

It said the forecasted wind gusts of 35mph could not be ignored.

"Making this decision has been extremely difficult but after weighing all considerations we must prioritise safety above all else," it said.