THE National Trust says that it is heartened by the public's reaction to its decision to call off one of its most popular events.

Fête Champêtre is a lavish open air concert that attracts thousands of people to Stourhead Gardens.

However heavy rain before this year's event meant that the ground was too wet to install the heavy lighting, staging and technical equipment without causing long term damage.

With ten days to go the concert was cancelled although more than 2000 people who had already bought tickets attended an evening picnic which culminated in a fireworks display.

"The feedback has been really heartening," said Graham Puxley, Fête organiser. "The night itself was a great success, but also the amount of support and understanding people showed us for making the decision to cancel. Even though we offered complete refunds, many people insisted on us keeping the money to show their affection for this magical garden, and our efforts to keep it that way."