The organisers behind Haworth’s 1940s weekend say they are pulling out because council red tape is making it impossible to continue.

Volunteers Pam Howarth and Linda Presley have organised the weekend since 2006 but say Bradford Council rules have made it increasingly difficult over the last two years.

The event, which attracted more than 20,000 visitors last year, is scheduled to take place on May 19 and 20 but will have to be cancelled unless someone else comes forward to run it.

Miss Howarth, who runs Oh La La Vintage in Main Street, said: “There has been a lack of support from the Council and they have kept putting obstacles in our way.

“It feels as if they didn’t want it to go ahead and have done everything possible to stop it happening.

“It is a huge boost to the area and it would be a shame if it didn’t go ahead. Businesses depend on it greatly and accommodation in Haworth is fully booked for that weekend already.”

Miss Howarth said one of the main issues was that the Council had insisted they implement an expensive traffic management plan last year after roads were brought to a standstill during the event in 2010.

She said the authority refused to offer advice or help and the cost of employing a private traffic management company was more than £10,000, meaning the event struggled to break even.

Other issues included numerous meetings at City Hall and lengthy paperwork to fill in, including a risk assessment identifying what should be done if an aeroplane fell out of the sky and into the crowd during the Battle of Britain fly past.

The organiser said the stress of organising last year’s 1940s event had caused both women to break down in tears.

She said she hoped another group could come forward to run the event and offered to give advice and support.

Mike Powell, chairman of the Bradford Public Safety Liaison Group, said he was surprised to hear the organisers had decided to pull out because the event plan and risk assessments from last year could be used again with minor tweaking.

He said the traffic management plan was essential to prevent a repeat of the chaos in 2010, which left service buses stranded and emergency vehicles unable to get through.

Mr Powell said the Council had arranged car parking in Keighley last year and for visitors to catch the steam trains in to Haworth on the Worth Valley Railway to keep traffic out of the village.

He said: “The Council and the police need to see risk assessments and event plans for all events in the district which attract a large number of people.

“We will continue to work with all organisations to ensure their events are as safe as can be.”