The organiser of a comedy festival has called for as many people to support this year’s event as possible after he secured a sponsor at the last minute.

It looked as though the Brighton Comedy Festival may not go-ahead this year after its major sponsor Paramount pulled out, leaving a £150,000 hole in the budget.

Then, just weeks before it was due to start on October 8, Magners cider came forward and offered to sponsor the event.

Now festival director William Burdett-Coutts says they need more support than ever to keep the event going.

He expressed relief that the cider company had backed them after a 'nail biting' and 'unbelievably stressful' year.

They had more than 50 acts booked for venues in and around The Dome in Church Street, Brighton.

Mr Burdett-Coutts said: “We only got the deal with Magners a couple of weeks ago, up until then it was a nail biting experience.

“If they hadn’t agreed to it, we still would have gone ahead with the festival because everything was in place, but it would have been at a loss which we would have then carried forward and it would have put next year’s festival in doubt.

“All I can say now is please, please come so we can ensure it goes ahead again next year.”

Mr Burdett-Coutts was unable to say how much Magners had invested in the event or whether they would be a sponsor again next year.

He added: “I'm a stayer, I won't let it fall through if I can help it.”

Paramount pulled out of the sponsorship as it rebranded itself as Comedy Central.

Mr Burdett-Coutts said: “It has been a challenge to prepare the current festival which has involved considerable cuts to make it happen.

“Thankfully we are up and running now – we can guarantee you a good night out at the best comedy festival south of the border.

“Customers won't see any difference in terms of the quality of the experience - we have just as many acts - we have simply had to balance our budget by cutting back on promotion and publicity round town.”

The comedy festival, which this year will attract well-known acts such as Jimmy Carr, Simon Amstel and Julian Clary, takes place in numerous venues around the city centre.

Statistics showed that visitors spent about £60 each day at the festival.