ABF The Soldiers Charity will cease to run its annual British Military Tournament fundraising event due to declining ticket sales despite reports that its last event was the best ever.

Trustees at the charity made the decision not to run the event - which features military parades - again after 30,000 attended the December show. Ticket sales had peaked in 2010 when the tournament attracted 55,000 attendees.

The tournament ran for four years and during that time made the Soldiers Charity a profit of £450,000, however trustees felt that year-in-year decline in ticket sales “meant that the charity was carrying increasing financial risk for limited financial return”.

The charity said that many attendees at the last show, in December, said it was the best yet.

The Soldiers’ Charity chief of staff Ret. Brigadier Robin Bacon said: “It is important that use of the charity’s money comes with rigorous and careful stewardship and, sadly, this popular event is no longer considered to be viable for the charity.”

Photo credit: Sampson Lloyd Photography