THE UPCOMING panto season in South Craven has been hit by Covid-19.

Glusburn Youth Theatre have cancelled their pantomime planned for next February and Sutton's Green Hut Theatre Company have postponed their show until next year.

The decisions came as many professional venues across the UK, including Bradford Alhambra, this month decided to scrap their 2020/21 pantomimes.

The Green Hut hadv already cancelled this year's planned VE Day show and September play, and recently scrapped the December date for this year's pantomime Aladdin.

The group hopes to perform the pantomime early in 2021, in place of its usual spring musical but at a date to be arranged. The committee will later this year decide whether to go ahead..

Glusburn Youth Theatre recently issued a statement about its February half-term pantomime in advance of the originally-planned workshop and auditions.

The committee said: "The safety and well being of our cast, crew, volunteers and supporters is paramount and therefore we have reached a decision to unfortunately cancel panto 2021.

"This decision was not taken lightly for us all and we are all upset about it but we feel with the current situation it is safer for us all.

"We hope if the restrictions are lifted enough we could potentially plan something for us to do in February."