Calling off the three-day spectacular will cost hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost revenue and show bosses will now meet with sponsors to discuss whether the event will return next year.

The show, which regularly attracts 60,000 people, was cancelled on Friday for the second consecutive year after heavy rain battered the showfields at Myerscough, near Preston.

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Event chairman Gordon Roberts said: "Obviously we are disappointed – the word 'gutted' springs to mind.

"We have had a lot of very good volunteers here and I feel for them, I feel for people who have not been able to come to the show.

"We need to talk to everyone who has helped us in the past and get their views on how they see the future."

He also admitted "lessons need to be learned" after a deluge the day before the event was due to open caused the cancellation of the show – unlike last year where several weeks of heavy rain gave organisers more notice the show would have to be cancelled.

He added: "The deluge over Wednesday night, Thursday, Thursday night and Friday was just too much for the field to cope with.

"We will have to look at the layout, whether we need more infrastructure, where we put it and how quickly we can prepare beforehand.

Show spokeswoman Pamela Knight said: "The society is a charity so it relies on the income from the show and from sponsors. It is too early at this stage to talk about the exact cost of this and plans for the future."

Farmer Andrea Gardner, from Bay Horse near Lancaster, was due to be exhibiting in the sheep classes at the show.

She turned back when she saw motorway signs on Friday saying the show was cancelled.

She said: "It was badly managed. I would have thought they would have known on Thursday morning what the weather was going to be like."

Some furious stallholders blasted the organisers' lack of foresight in not preparing for bad weather, especially after last year's washout.

One, who asked not to be named, said: "It is as if they thought the show was next month. Compare it to the Great Eccleston Show which had just as much rain last week but they already had sand and bark down."

Wyre Council's safety chief Malcolm Reece said there was "no way that the show can safely continue" due to ground conditions.

But many homeowners along the main A6 towards the showground – who feared it would cause traffic chaos – were happy at the cancellation.

Ann Miller, of South Grove, Barton, said: "There are people around here who would have gone, although I think a lot of people would have boycotted it anyway."

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