ORGANISERS of a fundraising day to send Falkland veterans on a pilgrimage to the islands have vowed to stage the event despite fears it could be axed over lack of interest.

The reunion in Gosport was set to raise thousands of pounds to help pay for war heroes to return to the scene of the conflict in the south Atlantic.

But despite almost 20,000 invitations being sent out to veterans of the campaign a disappointing 650 acceptances have been received.

The cost of staging the one-day event that was due to feature staged entertainment compered by TV funnyman Jim Davidson, is £25,000 leaving organisers nowhere near break-even with tickets priced at £25 each.

Despite the disappointing response organiser Derek Cole said the event would go ahead, albeit on a smaller scale.

He said: "It is disappointing but we would let more people down if we cancelled the whole thing. If we don't get enough veterans to raise any money to help pay for the pilgrimage than I will just have to think again and scale down the event.

"It seems there are those who don't want to remember what happened in the Falklands despite the commemoration events."

Mr Davidson's appearance could also be jeopardised if the event is scaled down but Derek is confident veterans will still make it to the pilgrimage thanks to a national fundraising campaign.

He said: "The money would have helped even further to subsidise the cost of the trip, but if we don't get much more interest we will be struggling to raise much at all."

More information about the event is on the veteran's website at www.sama82.org.uk.