In a sign of the times, the 2020 Priddy Folk Festival is the most recent event to be called off due to the coronavirus pandemic.

With its blend of quality folk music, showcasing some of the best musicians around, and its atmosphere of a freely accessible community fête, the Priddy Folk Festival has become a summer fixture in the local calendar.

This would have been the 29th outing for the charity event, attracting thousands to Priddy village, high on the Mendip Hills, and making a valuable contribution to local good causes.

Speaking from lockdown in Priddy, Dean Collier, chair of the festival trustees, said: "Three months ago, we could not have envisaged where we are today, having spent six weeks in isolation.

"Unfortunately it has now become clear that with the continuation of social distancing it will not be possible to run the folk festival this year.

"We are all terribly disappointed to make this announcement, not just for our loyal festival goers but for all the artists, traders, and others who will be missing an important source of income this year.

"Sadly it also means that we will be unable to make our usual charitable donations to local causes.

"All tickets already purchased will be valid for next year's festival, July 9 to 11 2021. We are doing our best to repeat this year's programme of artists and we can also make refunds.

"All the information is on the website http://www.priddyfolk.org/.

"A small crumb of comfort is that we are working on an isolation video with pupils from the Blue School in Wells as part of our Priddy Rising project.

"Usually the festival gives them an opportunity to perform live in front of an audience and we hope that their efforts will still be seen and enjoyed.

"Details of this video, and others from artists we had hoped to see in person at Priddy, will be available on the website soon."