There will be no encore for a festival which brought a feast of arts and culture to Dereham due to funding fears.

Jim Stebbings put Dereham Festival, which had previously been held in the 1970s, back on the arts agenda in 2006.

It then ran again in 2008 and 2010 and in 2012 held its most ambitious programme in living memory.

The event, which attracted the likes of Blake, City of London Sinfonia, Paul Daniels and John Coghlan's Quo to the town's Memorial Hall, had cost some £40,000 to stage and just about broke even.

Organisers fear they will not be able to attract the funds they need to host another festival of its kind and have decided to wind up the charitable organisation.

Festival chairman Mr Stebbings said: 'We don't think we can rely on the funding and support we need and feel we can't go on.

'It's sad for me as someone who had the idea and put it together and saw it to be an important thing and something the town needed.

'But I don't think Dereham is particularly concerned whether they get a festival or not.'

The last Dereham Festival to be staged saw a programme of between 30 and 40 events, including a parade in the town centre and Dereham's Got Talent contest.

The Memorial Hall, which was newly-reopened at the time, was filled to capacity for many of the acts.

Mr Stebbings said: 'Over its four festivals, Dereham Festival's income and expenditure was in the region of £100,000.

'But we are pleased that in winding it up, we have been able to pay the remaining funds of £1,600 to Dereham Town Council, one of the primary funders of the last festivals, in order that it may be added to the funding it makes available to similar charitable bodies in the town.'

Is your event facing funding fears? Email kate.scotter@archant.co.uk