SPLIT Festival, staged in Sunderland since 2009, will not take place again.

Making the announcement through social media, organisers say they have decided to call it a day due to financial constraints.

Split's Rob Deverson said: “We are so proud of what we have achieved, but ultimately the economics of live music events has left us unable to see how the event can continue. Each one of the team has invested personal cash into the festival to keep the business alive over the years, but sadly, we simply can’t keep it going."

The two-day festival has been a big part of the North East music calendar for the last six years. It has played host to the likes of Dizzee Rascal, Maximo Park, The Charlatans and The Cribs in recent years.

Organiser and Futureheads guitarist, Ross Millard added: "In the past 10 years the music industry has changed and with the rise of the internet record sales have fallen, to cover this loss of revenue artist's agents are asking for significantly higher fees for live performances and many festivals are finding this unsustainable. We have spent as much as £140k per year on booking the bands, but we haven't been able to recoup those artist's fees in ticket sales and other revenue."

Barry Hyde, also of Split, concluded: “It is a sad day announcing the end of Split, but at the same time I have an immense sense of pride, not only in the Split team that worked hard to make it happen since 2009, but also the punters.

"We have not had a single arrest, or incident and the crowds treated the bands that played with love, respect and heartfelt hospitality. The event last year in Mowbray Park was, in my opinion, an historical event for Sunderland and I feel happy that it was our farewell.”