A POPULAR Lyme Regis charity event which gained the backing of a music legend has been cancelled due to a lack of funding.

Guitars On The Beach, which was due to take place in September, will not be held unless a "miracle" effort for funding comes together.

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan led the event in 2014 as thousands performed his classic hit, Smoke on the Water. But last year, the event made a "significant loss".

Organiser Geoff Baker has decided to cancel this year's event.

He said: "I am very sad to announce that due to lack to sufficient sponsorship and financial support and not enough time for organisers to sort it all out, this year's Guitars On The Beach is cancelled.

"If anyone has any bright ideas, please feel free to email me at geoffbaker12@btinternet.com but I'm afraid it will take a miracle."

More than 2,000 people took part in last year's Guitars On The Beach, performing Jonny B. Goode by Chuck Berry and My Sharona by The Knack.

Mr Baker said: "Frankly, we didn't make enough of a song and dance about it and we didn't promote it early enough.

"That's a big shame because one of the reasons why we launched Guitars on the Beach was to raise money for local charities.

"In previous years, we've given money to the skatepark, the play park, local cancer charities and others."

Mr Baker had his funding request for £8,500 rejected by Lyme Regis Town Council earlier this month. The money would have gone towards building a stage for this year's event and paying for sound engineers and technicians.

He said: "Lyme Regis Town Council will not accept a grant application from any organisation that donates profits to local Lyme good causes, even when the town council's own project is the good cause.

"The council has generously funded us before, but now it won't because of an antipathy they have to us giving profits away. I have no idea why they disapprove - circulating money around the town seems like a good idea to me, but that's their rules, intellectually-challenged although they clearly are."

Mr Baker believes losing the event could cost the town between £50,000 to £70,000. He also thinks that there isn't "sufficient support" in the town for a successful crowdfunding campaign.

"Besides the full council's lack of support, I'm not convinced there is sufficient business backing for Guitars On The Beach in the town," he added.

"However, I do think that the businesses should club together to buy the town council a new beaded abacus, because although I have no idea what financial wizard is running the town there these days, the strategic wisdom of recent council decisions seems a bit off."