A CHARITY event which takes underprivileged children from Bristol for a day out at the seaside has been cancelled because of a lack of drivers.

The Bristol Taxi Charity, which has been running since 1927, has taken thousands of children from the city for a fun day out to the coast over the years.

The charity was initially launched to take very ill children from Bristol for treatment to the Shute Shelve Hospital on the A38 near Shipham, and then expanded to run the children's event.

But this year, for the first time in 50 years, the day out – scheduled for July 6 – has had to be cancelled after organisers struggled to find volunteer drivers.

Usually taxi drivers from across the area give up their time to take the children out for the day.

When the event first started, the charity had the support of about 50 drivers.

But, over the years, the number of volunteers have dwindled and this year only three volunteers came forward.

The organiser – Algy Seymour – has also been in hospital since January with heart and kidney problems and only returned home this week.

Mr Seymour, who is president of the Bristol Taxi Charity, learnt last week while still in hospital that the decision had been taken to cancel the event.

Mr Seymour, who was a taxi driver for 31 years before he retired, said he was 'very sad' that the day out had been scrapped.

This year, the charity had planned to take up to 150 children to Pontins in Brean, near Weston-super-Mare.

Mr Seymour, 76, who lives in Ashton, said: "It is the first time in the event's history, as far as I am aware, that we have had to cancel.

"It is very, very sad news.

"I was told that the decision had been made to cancel the event last week when I was still in hospital.

"The committee had no choice but to make this tough decision as they had struggled to get drivers.

"When we started we had around 50 drivers, but by last year that had fallen to around 18 and this year even fewer came forward.

"We had tried to get drivers – either people with their own cabs or from the local community – but could not get enough volunteers.

"It is such a shame because we have the money to cover the costs of the event, but no drivers to get us there."

The cost of the event – around £2,000 – is paid for by the charity which holds fundraisers including raffles and social events throughout the year.

Mr Seymour said he hoped to be able to resurrect the day trip for the youngsters next year and get a lot more drivers involved.

Anyone who wants to get involved can contact Mr Seymour on 0117 9664962.