SKIPTON'S much anticipated second Gateways Festival which was due to begin in 10 days time has been cancelled due to a problem with the stage supplier.

A statement from festival directors Sarah and Eddie Elliott-Smith was placed on social media yesterday evening and read: "It is with deepest regret that the incredibly difficult decision has been made to postpone this year’s Gateways Festival and The Great Yorkshire Dales Proms until September 1 to 3, 2023.

As directors we are heartbroken that a project, which ourselves and our dedicated team have worked tirelessly on, has come to this point.

Whilst we know this is extremely disappointing, a situation has arisen in which the stage supplier (StagedUK) has ceased trading even though they were paid in full for our event.

Whilst every effort has been made in finding another stage company to provide one, we have failed to secure one due to being amidst the festival season. Therefore, and after exhausting every avenue available, we have with a very heavy heart come to this very disappointing conclusion.

We appreciate that many people will have questions about this, but we ask that you wait until we make a further announcement later this week so we can ensure concerns are all dealt with effectively and with all the correct information available.

Whilst the devastation between us and the team is clear to see, the same people are now working tirelessly to ensure they have everything at their disposal to assist everyone with their questions. We appreciate your patience as we try to deal with these and hope you understand that these are unprecedented circumstances, far beyond our control and therefore we need some time before we can offer any more information.

It is with a great deal of sadness that this has become the ultimate outcome of months of hard work and can only apologise for those who were looking forward to attending Aireville Park at the end of next week. We are truly devastated, but we will do all we can over the next few days to ensure people who are affected by this news receive the appropriate communications and have all their questions resolved.

Thank you.”

The festival held its first event in Aireville Park last year and was hailed a roaring success and huge amounts of work had gone into staging this year's with an additional evening of proms music on Friday night.

It is not yet known if people are going to be offered refunds on their tickets or offer them the chance to use them at the 2023 festival.

StageUK has been asked for a comment.