THE appalling weather that disrupted the New Forest Show is thought to have cut the attendance by about 30 per cent.

Bright sunshine on the opening day was followed by a 36-hour downpour that turned the showground into a quagmire and kept the crowds away.

Between 90,000 and 100,000 people normally flood through the gates - but this year's total could turn out to be as low as 68,000.

The three-day show, one of the biggest in the south, cost more than £1m to stage and is expected to make a loss.

However, organisers say there is no threat to the future of the event - one of Hampshire's social highlights since it was first staged in 1920.

Most of this year's visitors went on the opening day after forecasters warned that the rest of the week would be a washout.

The torrential rain resulted in some of the arena events being cancelled or curtailed, including displays by the King's Troop of the Royal Horse Artillery.

Spectators had trouble staying on their feet in the wet and slippery conditions and many of their cars got stuck in the mud.

Show chairman Geoff Morgan said that the show enjoyed a record opening day, attracting 28,000-29,000 spectators compared with the usual figure of 23,000-24,000.

Cost However, he estimated that the overall crowd figure was likely to be about 30 per cent down on previous years.

Mr Morgan said: "It was the worst weather in the history of the show. I've been involved in the event for 50 years and I've never seen anything like it."

Richard Cuzens, the show's chief executive, referred to the cost of staging the event.

He said that overheads included rent paid to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which owned the showground at New Park, Brockenhurst.

Referring to the weather, he said: "There will be a financial impact but far less than if we'd cancelled and lost our ticket income.

"We have a reasonable level of reserves that will cover our losses and the cost of restoring New Park, a third of which was damaged."