More than 1,000 country traders have been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after the cancellation of the annual Game Fair.

The event was to have been held last weekend at Harewood House, near Harrogate, but was cancelled a fortnight ago because it was decided that the waterlogged fields were too dangerous for vehicles. The forecast was for further heavy rain, although in the end the weather was dry.

But the disappointment of the exhibitors has now turned to outrage after they learnt this week that the event was not insured and that there was no chance of any refund for the £850 upfront fee paid to acquire a pitch.

David Hough, director of the fair, one of the leading gatherings of the hunting, shooting and fishing set, made them the offer of a 20 per cent discount for next year’s event at Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire. He said that the organisers, the Country, Land and Business Association (CLA), had itself lost at least £1 million from the cancellation, the first in the event’s 49-year history.

Exhibitors are furious and there is at least one move to take legal action against the CLA alleging negligence in failing to have insurance cover. Wesley Stanton, managing director of Blaze Publishing, which includes titles such as Gun Trade News and Sporting Rifle, said that he was willing to donate £2,000 to set up a legal fund.

The discount offered to traders for next year works out at about £135 to £195 off a space on the site. But this is tiny compared with the losses.

Sergio Pizarro paid £850 for a single open space and a further £1,700 on a marquee and fixtures and fittings to sell his handmade leather boots. He also spent £6,000 on stock and expected to make at least £10,000 at the fair.

He was astounded this week to receive Mr Hough’s letter which read: “It is with enormous regret that we must inform you that we are not in a position to refund your stand fees this year and cannot accept liability for any form of compensation for any losses you may have sustained.”

Mr Pizarro described the discount on next year’s fee as pathetic. “They should have refunded the money but refuse to do so. I have no doubt that people will try legal action,” he said.

Dylan Williams, who runs the Royal Berkshire Shooting School and the Really Wild clothing company, said that he had lost £4,000 on stand fees and an estimated £90,000 of sales. He described the predicament of the traders as the “countryside equivalent of Farepak, where money was taken and people are not getting it back”.

Adrian Gane, director-general of the CLA, said that to refund exhibitors would put the viability of the Game Fair at risk. He apologised for the situation but was unrepentant. “We are taking a big bath on this ourselves, at least £1 million.” He said it had been too costly to pay the £100,000-a-year insurance policy for cancellation of the fair but added that the CLA had given exhibitors the chance to insure themselves. He defended the offer of a 20 per cent discount. “We were within our legal rights to offer nothing at all and it was a question of what we could afford,” he said.

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