IT’S one of the most popular events on a Hampshire town’s entertainments calendar.

But the future of Romsey’s annual Beggars Fair hangs in the balance amid fears policing costs could spiral.

Beggars’ Fair officials are now looking at three options – one of which is to pull the plug on the event.

If the free musical festival continues, traders could be asked to pay towards running costs, which this year included £2,000 bill for policing.

Now organisers have revealed they are to try and ban alcohol from being drunk on the streets during the event.

They are also holding a meeting next month to discuss its future with local traders.

Fair committee chair Delsia Bartlett said: “The Beggars Fair committee anticipates that it will be asked for a substantially increased contribution towards policing costs next year,”

She said the committee was also looking at deploying private security staff in the more crowded areas of the town during the event.

Delsia said “the good atmosphere”

of the Beggars Fair had come under threat in recent years and there was an incident involving rowdy youths and the fair was brought to an early close on the recommendation of police.

The new options being considered by organisers are:

• To continued with the fair but with “more attention paid to the style and nature of the acts” especially at pubs.

• To stage the fair on a Saturday only between 11am and 6pm with no events on the Friday or Saturday evening.

• Or to axe the fair completely.

The organisers say that the first option will need a “substantial contribution”

towards running costs from all businesses which benefit from the event.

Letters have gone out to businesses in the town explaining the situation and inviting traders to a meeting at Romsey’s Abbey Hotel on January 9 at 8pm, to discuss the fair’s future.

Delsia added: “One of the biggest problems we have is people bringing alcohol into Romsey and drinking it on the streets.

“We’ve had some initial discussions with the police and licensing authorities about this and we hope that an order banning alcohol from being drunk on the streets will be enforced at the next Beggars Fair.”

Former Romsey policeman and borough and town councillor, Ian Richards said: “The Beggars Fair is in danger of disappearing if funding isn’t made available and that would be a loss to Romsey because the events brings a lot of people to the town. I will do whatever I can to support the Beggars Fair to ensure it continues.”