AN ill-fated tank showcase spectacular has been cancelled after most of the giant war machines set to appear suffered break downs.

An impressive array of tanks had been lined up to appear at a fun festival in Kirby-le-Soken this weekend dubbed Tank Action.

But devastated organisers have been forced to cancel the crowd-puller at the last minute.

Two weeks before the event they started to get calls from tank operators saying they would not be able to make it due to mechanical faults.

In a freak bout of terrible timing, all but four of the 18 vehicles booked to appear were ruled out of attending.

The event was run for the first time last year, when it was badly affected by poor weather.

Now this year’s showcase has been cancelled completely.

Organiser Paul Clifton said: “It almost feels like the event is cursed. I’m absolutely gutted.

“We had a really fantastic line-up of vehicles coming, but then suddenly it was one phone call after another.

“One of the problems when dealing with 70 year-old vehicles is that they are not always reliable.

“In this case we were just hit by terrible luck and several suffered mechanical failures when the owners fired them up to test them ahead of the event.

“In the end we were just left with no other choice than to cancel it. It has been an absolute nightmare.”

The tanks set to appear included the hulking 55-tonne Centurion and Chieftain tanks, as well as the historic 28-tonne Mark 1, used in the First World War.

A 30-tonne Sherman tank was also due to visit – as seen on the big screen in Brad Pitt war film Fury, as well as the Russian T34/85.

Among the faults was the starter motor breaking on the Chieftain tank.

To get to the starter motor to replace it, the nearly two-tonne engine has to be removed, and it was not possible before the event.

Mr Clifton started searching further afield to replace the drop-outs.

He said: “I looked further and further out to try to keep the event on, but the further away a tank is based harder and more expensive it is to get it here.

“I looked for anything within 200 miles, but it just wasn’t possible to get another line-up together.

“It is so disappointing. People were really looking forward to it and every time I have to tell someone it has been cancelled I feel sick to my stomach.

“These things happen and it can’t be helped, but I’m still absolutely gutted.”

Organisers have talked about reviving the event next year, but no decision has been made yet.