The Royal Bath and West Society has today (September 10) announced the cancellation of this year's Dairy Show due to the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.

The society says this is an extremely difficult decision to make, though in light of the recent rise in confirmed cases, members feel this is the responsible thing to do.

They said it has become clear that the impact of these challenging times on gatherings will not have abated sufficiently to allow the Dairy Show to go ahead at the Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet in the way they would want it to.

The next Dairy Show will be held on October 6 2021. The society says it understands that this is very disappointing news for everyone involved with the Dairy Show but their priority remains the health and safety of our visitors, exhibitors, members and staff.

Alan Lyons, the head of shows at the Royal Bath and West Society, said: "Obviously we are hugely disappointed to be taking this decision today, and to have to cancel one of the key industry events in the UK is a great shame, especially when so many others have fallen by the wayside this year.

"We hope that our visitors, traders and exhibitors will understand that we have a civic responsibility to act sensibly and we felt that with the reduction in numbers of people allowed to meet, cancellation now is the right thing to do.

"This was due to be our 40th anniversary and we had already made some adjustments to the Dairy Show so we will now look forward to welcoming the dairy industry back to next year's Dairy Show on October 6 2021."

The society will be in touch with exhibitors, sponsors and competition entrants for the show with details of what to do next, and will also contact all ticket-holders.

Everyone will be contacted in the coming days and the society asks for your patience due to reduced staffing levels.

The board of trustees and all staff at the Royal Bath and West Society would like to thank the public, trade stand exhibitors, British Cheese Awards exhibitors, and all sponsors for their understanding and patience during this period of uncertainty and what is an unprecedented situation.