THE Burtonwood five-mile road race has been cancelled after organisers were unable to sort out road closures in time.

In statement published by the Burtonwood Bridge ARLFC, organisers said that the cancellation was due circumstances beyond their control.

The statement added: “Apologies for any inconvenience caused due to these conditions which have been imposed on us by the local council.

“After eight years of this race, we have been forced to have road closures at a very high cost.

“We could not get an approved traffic management company in place at such short notice. The judgement of the race organisers was that we had no choice but to cancel the 2014 race.”

All pre-entered application forms for the race, which was expected to take place on July 18, will be returned via post.

A council spokesman said: “It is the responsibility of all race organisers to ensure public safety and a competent traffic management staff are appointed to close roads .

“Although we would not stop an event, we do have a responsibility to comment on the safety and traffic management aspects and we raised concerns around the traffic management of this race.”