THE second day of Evesham Regatta had to be cancelled on Sunday after heavy rains caused the river level to rise above the landing stage.

About 2,000 people were expected to attend the Sprint Regatta before the bad weather struck, causing safety concerns, as well as disappointment among competitors and spectators.

John Lomas, chairman of the Evesham Rowing Club, said: “The water was below the landing stage when we finished competition on the Saturday night, but when we came down in the morning we saw the water had risen well above it and was moving rapidly. We could not believe how quickly the water came up and we made the decision to cancel the Sprint Regatta as early as possible to save people the journey.

“We had to cancel in the interests of safety, especially as we get a lot of young rowers for the second day and we could not put them at risk.”

He added: “We did not get one complaint. Everyone agreed we had to cancel and we now have to go about refunding all the entry fees for the Sunday. We are all very, very disappointed, especially the volunteers who put in so much work. At least the rains didn’t come 24 hours earlier and we got one day of racing in, but we lost any profit we would have made.

“We potentially bring about 2,000 people into Evesham on each day of the event, so it’s not just us who have missed out but the town as well.”