IT'S raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for local charities and delighted thousands of families over the years.

The Mayflower Park fireworks, one of the South's biggest displays which attracts bumper crowds of around 15,000 people to Southampton's waterfront, has been a fixture on the city's calendar for over 25 years.

But the annual extravaganza won't take place this year, organisers have announced.

Volunteers from Southampton Round Table have reluctantly cancelled the event in November after being told that Southampton City Council will be carrying out maintenance work on the venue this winter.

A spokesman said: "This event takes a huge amount of organisation and work and the public’s safety is paramount. Given the limited space that would be available within the park, due to the refurbishments, it has been decided that it would not be possible to safely hold our event.

"This is extremely disappointing as there are many charities that rely on funds received from this event."

Hospital station Radio Lollipop, child bereavement support charity Simon Says, Hamble Lifeboat, the city's Samaritans branch and various local scout groups have all benefitted from funds raised at the event in the past.

Bumper crowds normally see around £10,000 worth of fireworks released from a shipping barge in Southampton Water, lighting up the city's skyline with dazzling colours.

They also enjoy a funfair and live music leading up to the display.

But Southampton City Council will begin work to repair and re-seed the large grass area at Mayflower Park at the end of this month and it will need to be protected from heavy footfall for ten weeks by temporary fencing.

Responding to a Daily Echo query, a statement said: “The work will unavoidably clash. We have looked at waiting to seed the grass until after the event in November but unfortunately the delay would pose a high risk to our maintenance and repair programme designed to protect the park for future use.

“We have been working with the organisers for the last few months to identify another location within the city but unfortunately we have been unable to find a suitable alternative. Whilst we are disappointed that the fireworks display will not go ahead this year we hope to welcome Southampton Roundtable back in future years. The group do some fantastic work for charitable causes. We look forward to working with Southampton Roundtable to bring their event back for 2020.”

Organisers are backing the Winchester Round Table fireworks event on Saturday November 9 as an alternative.

They are also hoping to still support the charities with a 100 mile cycle along the South Downs Way in October.