Trevithick Day has become one of the first victims of the new lockdown after it was announced that this year's event was cancelled over safety concerns due to the coronavirus epidemic.

The Trevithick Committee says it did not take the decision lightly when it met on Friday evening but had decided to cancel this year’s Trevithick Day. Having held a restricted event at the last minute in 2019 due to the weather, and cancelling the event last year they said they wanted to provide certainty as early as they could.

But the committee says it is working on a very special event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of inventor Richard Trevithick's birth.

The statement posted on the committee's website said: "The Trevithick Day Committee met on Friday evening and made the tough decision to cancel this year’s Trevithick Day, due to the ongoing Coronavirus outbreak. Having held a restricted event at the last minute in 2019 due to the weather, we wanted to provide certainty as early as we could.

"As we are sure many will appreciate, this decision has not been taken lightly. A great deal of effort has gone into planning and preparing for the event. That being said, we feel strongly that the health, safety and wellbeing of our exhibitors, performers, volunteers and general public must be our top priority.

"Any illness amongst volunteers, extra pressure on healthcare resources or new requirements for event organisers places a doubt on public safety on the day.

"The government has stated that the coronavirus outbreak will get worse and there is a risk that at some point they will ban large-scale events. We have already seen many sporting events cancelled or postponed, including the London Marathon on April 26th. The committee feels that such a ban would mean us incurring substantial losses that may jeopardise future events. By cancelling now we limit those losses.

"We considered the possibility of postponing to another date, but there is no way of knowing when the impact of the outbreak will be over. We also intend to start work on 2021 Trevithick day very soon. In fact planning is already underway for what will be a special festival – the 250th anniversary of Richard Trevithick’s birth.

"We would like to thank everyone, in particular Camborne Town Council, for their continued support for Trevithick Day and look forward to seeing you all in April 2021.

Reacting to news on its Facebook page, Camborne Town Council said: "Sad news from the Trevithick Day committee but we look forward to supporting their alternative plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Richard Trevithick's birth this year.

"Hopefully Trevithick Day will be back as normal in 2022."