SEVENTY people have lost their jobs after a circus was cancelled at the last minute, organisers say.

The boss of Continental Circus Berlin said he was “furious” that Brighton and Hove City Council cancelled the show in Preston Park with less than a week’s notice.

The circus was originally booked to perform in Brighton as part of the Fringe Festival back in May but was postponed to October as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Now the performers have had to pack their bags and book flights home, with some travelling as far as Brazil.

Circus director John Haze said: “It was an utter shock.

“We wouldn’t have spent all that money on publicity. We wouldn’t have brought all the vehicles down.

“When you are talking about 30 vehicles, it is a lot of money on diesel.”

The circus was camping in a farmer’s field in Chichester so performers would not have far to travel to Brighton.

The cancellation left performers stuck in caravans without proper facilities.

Mr Haze said: “We couldn’t find anywhere else to go because they didn’t give us any notice.

“We had nowhere for them to live.

“All these guys were living in a caravan without proper drainage or anything in a field in Chichester which was meant only to be for a few nights.

“We had no choice, we had to close down.”

The cancellation of the Brighton shows left organisers £17,000 out of pocket and forced them to cancel shows in Chippenham.

A Brighton and City Council spokesman said managing the pandemic was the priority and the circus was given one week’s notice ahead of the preview show, which was planned for today.

He said: “Given the local and national situation regarding Covid-19, we have taken the tough decision to withdraw permission for Circus Berlin to take place.

“The past two weeks have seen the Covid-19 case rate in Brighton and Hove fluctuate, but numbers are now rising significantly.

“These fluctuations, along with the national escalation in Covid-19 cases, means it is not always possible to give events as much notice as we would like.

“We alerted the Circus on October 1, a week before the first scheduled preview show, and explained our decision fully to circus directors the following day.

“The public health advice is that the council should consider how to avoid additional events that could contribute to a greater level of risk for our residents and visitors.

“Our priority is to try and manage the pandemic locally and sometimes this means making difficult decisions before cases escalate to the levels being seen elsewhere.”