A circus has cancelled its entire stay in Torbay after claiming a dispute over its showground and a lack of water supply made it impossible to open, leaving ticket holders facing refunds or transfers.
Paulos Circus announced the cancellation in a statement shared on social media after work had already begun erecting its big top.
The circus said it had completed moving the remainder of the show onto the site, marked out the ground and confirmed the layout before construction started at 8am.
However, it claimed the landowner later informed staff the circus had been set up in the wrong location and insisted it should be moved.
According to the statement, relocating the structure at that stage was not practical.
The statement said: “Unfortunately, the landowner has now informed us that the site has been set up in the wrong location and insists that it must be moved. This simply ain’t possible. Our bigtop and steelwork are not on wheels and relocating everything at this stage cannot be done practically or even in time to open.”
The circus also claimed it had been assured a water supply would be available but later discovered there was no water on site.
It said: “We cannot reasonably expect our staff, performers and families to remain on site for two weeks without such a basic necessity.”
Paulos Circus said it had been unable to reach an agreement with the landowner and described the circumstances as being beyond its control.
The statement added: “We are truly sorry to let everyone down but these circumstances are completely beyond our control and we have been unable to reach an agreement with the landowner.”
In a separate update, the circus confirmed all Torbay ticket holders would be contacted by its office team within the next seven days.
Customers will be offered the choice of transferring their booking to performances in Exeter or Newquay, or receiving a full refund.
Anyone who has not been contacted by next Wednesday has been asked to email info@paulos.co.uk.
The circus apologised for the disappointment and thanked customers for their understanding and support.
