Tom Kerridge pulls Picnic in the Park

This weekend's Picnic in the Park in Marlow has been cancelled, Tom Kerridge and the Pub in the Park team have announced.

Picnic in the Park, in Marlow’s Higginson Park, was due to launch on Thursday with a line-up of comedy, live music and food dished up by Michelin-starred chefs including Tom Kerridge, Paul Ainsworth and Atul Kochhar.

The organisers said the decision was taken to protect the safety of the visitors, participants and residents of the town.

In a statement Kerridge, the host and owner of Marlow's two-Michelin-starred gastropub the Hand & Flowers, said: “In the last few days it has become clear that the national picture is changing dramatically and there are significant new risk factors which aren’t yet clearly understood.

“While we are really disappointed to take this decision, our priority has always been the safety of all involved and our home town of Marlow.”

The Pub in the Park team said it hoped to be able to present “this brilliant line-up of talent” in Marlow at some point in the future.

The cancellation follows Monday’s press briefing update by the government’s chief medical officer professor Chris Whitty and chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance on the rising number of Covid-19 cases in the UK.