THE Eaton Hall Gardens charity open day due to take place on Easter Sunday, March 31, has been cancelled due to poor ground conditions after one of the wettest winters on record.

Organisers took the decision to cancel the event after a grassed area, which would have been used to park hundreds of cars, became saturated due to recent snow and rain.

Edwin Christmas, agent for the Eaton Estate, said: “This is not a decision that’s been taken lightly. We know that people enjoy the garden open days immensely and the Easter Sunday event has been a regular date in the diary for decades.

“However, the ground which we use as a car park is saturated and our concern was that visitors would find themselves stranded in their vehicles on boggy and waterlogged grass.

“We understand that people will be disappointed but with the next garden open day just two months away we hope to see visitors then instead.”

The garden open days raise thousands of pounds for local charities every year and last year £44,000 was shared between four recipients.

The 2013 beneficiaries are Chester Childbirth Appeal, Motor Neurone Disease Association Cheshire and the Three Villages Project.

The next open day is on Sunday, May 26, from 10.30am to 5pm.