COWES Christmas Carnival has been cancelled due to a lack of funds.

In previous years, Cowes Carnival Committee has organised street tours through Cowes, Gurnard and Northwood over five nights, collecting children's letters to Father Christmas and making sure they all received a reply.

The event also featured festive floats and a chance to meet Father Christmas at Corries Cabin.

A Cowes Carnival spokesperson said: "We usually have around 350 to 400 letters each year.

"We firmly believe Christmas is about children and we never want to make money out of children, only cover our costs.

"We have plodded on, paying out of the committee's own pockets, but we still needed materials to finish the job and we have nearly run out of time.

"We are of the opinion that stopping, rather than worrying ourselves sick, is how to keep it going."

UPDATE WEDNESDAY: A fundraising campaign has been started to raise money for the festive event.

The fundraiser, hosted in website Go Fund Me, aims to raise £400 for Cowes Carnival to keep the yearly event going.