The event was held annually in the grounds of Broughton Hall. Photo: Alexander P Kapp CC-BY-SA-2.0

Two rescue teams are faced with finding a new source of cash after the decision to end a long-running fundraising event.

The Broughton Game Show has been held for 33 years in the grounds of a North Yorkshire stately home, raising money for the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association and the Cave Rescue Organisation.

But the committee that runs the event announced this week the show has come to an end. More than £325,000 has been raised for the two volunteer teams over the years.

The event at Broughton Hall was cancelled this year because it clashed with the Olympic Torch Relay passing through nearby Skipton.

Now, rising costs, insurance, health and safety issues and the vagaries of the weather mean that the organising committee have reluctantly decided to call it a day.

The committee said there are several reasons for the decision, including the escalating costs of running such an event, which have created a high risk factor for them.

In a statement, organisers said: “The main reason for the game show was to raise money for the two rescue organisations, and there was great concern that the opposite could so easily happen.

“In this litigious age the demands and requirements necessary for the safe running of the show both on the field and the surrounding roads, also had to have serious consideration.

“The show is very dependent on the English climate and the number of events cancelled over the last few years due to excessive rain has increased dramatically.

“This year, the decision not to have a show due to the Olympic torch coming to the area, when around 25,000 people descended on Skipton, proved to be a good one.

The game show began as a fundraiser for Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association

“Even if the game show had been organised it would have had to be cancelled at a late stage due to the field being waterlogged. The show had to be called off in 2009 and many others have been on a knife edge weather-wise.”

Chris Baker, one of the organisers involved since the show started, said: “The committee hopes the public will understand the reasons behind this difficult decision and would like to thank them for their support, and also the many volunteers not directly connected with the rescue teams without whom it could never have happened.

“Such a complex and labour-intensive show could never have been possible without the dedicated enthusiastic members of the two groups. In this day and age it is amazing that it has always been staffed 100 per cent by volunteers, who we hope have brought to the public many very varied and enjoyable attractions and activities.”

Chairman David Aynesworth, who was the catalyst for the show, added: “It has been an amazingly happy committee, which probably contributed greatly to the show’s success, and the whole event would not have happened at all if Mr and Mrs Henry Tempest [Broughton Hall’s owners] in 1978 had not agreed to it being held at Broughton Hall.

“They could not have been more understanding and they gave the committee great support – and also never complained when we made a muddy mess of their grounds.”