THE Great Yorkshire Show has been abandoned for the first time in 11 years as the wettest summer on record claims another high-profile victim.

Organisers held an emergency meeting this afternoon and cancelled the rest of the show after a torrential downpour towards the end of day one made the already bad condition of the showground's car parks worse. Visitors reported that vehicles were having to be towed out by tractors.

Show director Bill Cowling said: “It has been a difficult decision, but better now than tomorrow. We took this decision very reluctantly based on not being able to park our visitors’ cars.

"We had thought of just allowing four-wheel drives on, but how would you police that? We are very sorry that the show is now cancelled as of this evening.”

He stressed that safety on the showground was not an issue and that the cancellation was purely because of parking difficulties. All tickets for Wednesday and Thursday will be refunded.

Dairy farmers who had planned to be at the remainder of the show will instead join a mass demonstration in London against milk price cuts tomorrow.

The Great Yorkshire Show was last cancelled in 2001, the year of foot and mouth disease. This year, more than 130,000 people were expected to attend, with 16,000 vehicles expected yesterday alone. But the show’s committee urged people to use public transport instead and just 10,000 vehicles passed through its gates before the show was called off.