HUNDREDS of Bonfire Night revellers in Teesdale will be left without the usual November 5 celebrations after it was revealed that two big fireworks displays have been cancelled.

The foot-and-mouth epidemic claimed its latest victims after organisers of the Startforth and Bowes fireworks displays were forced to call off the events for fear of spreading the disease.

The displays draw hundreds of people from across region, with the Startforth event by far the biggest in the Teesdale area.

Organised by the Barnard Castle Scouts, the display has been held in a field in Startforth for the past seven years, and involves almost £3,000 worth of fireworks.

Many local people gather in the Demesnes area of Barnard Castle to watch the spectacle, and last year organisers counted more than 70 cars parked in the field.

The show is a fundraising event for the local Scout group, and last year the troupe raised hundreds of pounds from the event.

Jack Stannard, chairman of the Barnard Castle Scouts committee, said: "This is the biggest event of its kind in this area, and a lot of people are going to be left disappointed because they may have nowhere to go this year.

"We get hundreds of spectators and it's been held here for the last seven years, but we had to cancel because of foot-and-mouth, it is just one of those things."

The situation has been the same for the organisers of the Bowes bonfire and fireworks display, held in the village every year.

The community has been hit hard by the epidemic and the event was cancelled to allay any fears about the disease returning to the dale.