TAVISTOCK's annual balloon extravaganza, due to take place during the August Bank Holiday weekend, has had to be cancelled due to the foot and mouth crisis.
Tavistock Lions, which organise the event, were predicting a bumper success after scoring a competition coup. The Fiesta was to have played host to one of the three British Grand Prix ballooning competitions to be held in the country this year.
But now landing restrictions mean the event cannot take place.
David Inman of Tavistock Lions said: 'We have concluded that it's too risky to run this year in terms of the foot and mouth outbreaks.
'The last thing we want to do is cause any problem for local farmers. We have angsted long and hard over it, because it raises something in the region of £8,000 for local charities, but we felt we had to support the farming community this year.'
Mr Inman said the Lions are now planning something 'bigger and better' for next year to make up for this summer's disappointment.
The area championship tug of war competition will still take place on August Bank Holiday Sunday, there will be a jazz band and a firework display during the evening, said Mr Inman.
He said in addition, there would also be several 'horse races' organised by the Round Table during the Sunday evening.
The Balloon Fiesta grand prix competition would have attracted many serious balloonists, drawn to Tavistock's microclimate produced by the river valleys, Dartmoor and the town's proximity to the sea.
The conditions are very different to grand prix events held in central England and would have proved challenging to balloonists, according to Arthur Street of Aerosaurus and Exeter Balloons, which usually organises the ballooning at the Fiesta.
The other big change to the schedule was the Friday evening balloon glow.
To attract people to Tavistock from the Plymouth area, the Lions had arranged for the Friday evening attraction to take place in the grounds of Saltram House.