A BLUNT warning has been sounded that the county's fairground and circus operators could go to the wall unless the Red Diesel rebate is reintroduced.

David Taylor, from Whitehavan, runs Taylor's Fun Fairs, that goes to events all over north and west Cumbria, and has warned that many small operators will fail unless unless the Chancellor Rishi Sunak reverses his decision to scrap the tax rebate for red diesel, that powers off road machinery and vehicles - meaning that fuel bills for fairgrounds generators will rocket in 2023.

It's called Red Diesel because it is coloured with a dye - has a duty of 11.1p per litre compared with 57.7p diesel at the pump.

David, who is now based in Kendal, and is one of six generations to run the rides said it is going to have a "major" affect on business.

He added: "The bigger fairs are likely to survive but it's the smaller ones that will have problems.

"There's places we go to where we don't actually make much money, like Millom, it's not very big but we know everybody there and its quite enjoyable - we'll end up going to bigger events and the little ones will suffer."

David said that the measures would likely see the daily cost of staging the rides go from £100 to £300.

He added: "What can we do we can only put charges but it's the kids - they are only usually given £10 by their parent."

"It is only a 16 hour week where we are actually open

"We only operate from, for example, 6pm to 10pm on Friday that on Saturdays and Sunday's we operate from 1pm to 10pm that is the maximum hours we do."

A spokesman for the Showmen's Guild, the body which represents the interests of the industry, said: "The Fairground, Circus and Show industry is just surviving.

"As well as the uncertain outlook for outdoor events this season overall with the onset of the Coronavirus outbreak.

"The Showmen need the fuel rebate for Red Diesel to continue in order to survive.

"It would be no exaggeration to state that without it, the operation of the showmen’s events would be unsustainable.

"And the entertainment on offer would be unaffordable, especially competing with other entertainment."