Organisers of Yarmouth's sand sculpture festival were forced to close for good yesterday after torrential rain destroyed most of the statues.
Organisers of Yarmouth's sand sculpture festival were forced to close for good yesterday after torrential rain destroyed most of the statues.
About 160,000 people visited the £1m exhibition on the town's beach this summer, which was due to stay open until October as its Dutch owners tried to make it break even.
But yesterday they admitted defeat, with most of the statues of Greek gods and heroes now faceless lumps.
Manager René Peters said: "We knew the festival was coming to an end but this is not the way we wanted to go. They lasted about three hours in the downpour but by 9.15am the faces were slipping and we knew it was all over.
"We had wanted to give the blind schools free entry on our last day and let them feel all the artistry that went into these sculptures - but sadly that will have to wait a year."
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