It is the biggest event in the town's calendar, but at a crisis meeting the committee that organises the Axbridge Pageant made the decision to postpone this year's August production for 12 months.

The artistic director John Bailey said that due to the Government's advice to cancel meetings for the next few weeks, rehearsals would be affected and there would be a reluctance for people to commit to the pageant, which is normally held every 10 years.

"We cannot risk it," he said, "the coronavirus has blown it away, and we have had to bow to the inevitable and put it off for a year."

However, he said he remained committed to the project and fortunately no money had yet changed hands as tickets had not yet gone on sale.

Nigel Scott, the treasurer, said it was fortunate that no major purchases had been made as the finance of pageant was vital to its success.

John agreed saying the pageant had to be a sell out in order to cover costs and although things may improve by August ticket sales would be hit as a result of the crisis.

Some of the factors behind the decision included the large number of the audience who would be in their 70s or older, many in the cast being of a similar age and the uncertainty over the length of the coronavirus crisis inevitably would be a break on residents' volunteering.

The pageant was set to take place from August 29 to 31 but will now be rescheduled to be performed on August 28 to 30, 2021.