This year's Gravity Fields Festival in Grantham has been postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.

South Kesteven District Council Leader, Coun Kelham Cooke, took the difficult decision following lengthy discussions with the Cabinet member for Culture, Coun Rosemary Trollope-Bellew.

Earlier this month, the council had already warned of the prospect of the postponement of the festival as the pandemic worsened.

The biennial festival, combining science, arts, heritage, music and drama, is organised by SKDC and celebrates the legacy of, and local links to, Sir Isaac Newton.

Coun Cooke said: "This was not a decision that has been taken lightly but as with all our decisions at present, public health and the continuing delivery of our critical services must come first. As with any event of this kind, much of the planning and decision-making about allocation of resource have to be made months in advance. It would not be right to make such commitments in the current situation."

SKDC Cabinet Member for Culture and Visitor Economy, Cllr Rosemary Trollope-Bellew, agreed: "This is a fantastic festival that quite rightly attracts global attention. But in the current circumstances, it would not have been right to push ahead with plans for such an event.

"Much of the money and resources for big events like this have to be committed months in advance, and right now we need to focus on maintaining our critical services and ultimately protecting the health and wellbeing of our staff and our residents."

The festival usually attracts funding from Arts Council England for the event's traditional Saturday night outdoor spectacular, but this year, those funds have been redirected to a creative arts crisis funding package as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The council is now likely to hold the next Gravity Fields Festival in 2022, pending wider discussion.