A DAWLISH charity insist they are still going strong, despite a two-year hit to their finances.

The Snooky Trust helps people aged 18-40 who live in Dawlish and the wider area.

Last week they took the tough decision to cancel their major fundraising event, the Snooky Fest, for the second year in a row, blaming difficulties in staging the event with ongoing uncertainty over regulations.

The one-day music festival at Warren Farm overlooking the sea has been going since 2017 and attracts thousands of people each year.

Organiser Caz Steffens, pictured right, who received the BEM for her services to charity, said: ‘We’re heartbroken. I hate letting people down, but we will be back in 2022, I’m too bloody-minded to stop now!’

Caz revealed the date next year will be Saturday, July 9.

Organising the event is a small scale operation, with few overheads. Working from her kitchen table a busy Caz, who has three children to look after and the Black Swan Care Company to run, along with the rest of the team – Luke, Rob, Hugh and Tom – arrange the bands, catering, and all the red tape needed to stage the family-friendly festival.

‘We had booked 17 bands to play and all the vendors,’ she said. ‘Luckily we took the decision to cancel in time to avoid any deposit losses.’

The charity was started by Caz in honour of her brother Chris ‘Snooky’ Snook, who died in 2007 aged 27.

She started off her fundraising by opening a small shop in Queen Street, Dawlish, and moved to bigger premises soon after. She closed the shop in 2016 and started the festival the following year.

The 10am-10pm party at the farm brings in some £4,000 each year, and all the money goes towards helping people with a physical illness of any description.

Among the things the trust does is arrange days out, buy medical equipment and provide wheelchairs. ‘It’s all so expensive and can’t just be bought off the shelf,’ she said. ‘It all has to be bespoke.’’

The trust is already sourcing other funding paths. Caz explained: ‘We’ll update people on our Facebook page but we hope to receive items for donation which we can sell on – just like it was when I first started the shop.

‘We had succeeded in getting £9,000 National Lottery funding last year, but with lockdown that didn’t happen so I’m chasing that up.’

Locally, some Dawlish organisations are pledging support.

Caz said: ‘The age group we help are a proud lot, and I guess we’ve helped more than 650 people in the time the trust has been going.

‘If you have tickets for this year and last year, keep them safe. They’ll be honoured next year.

‘Rest assured Snooky Fest will go ahead on July 9 at Warren Farm Dawlish Warren next year! We can’t wait to welcome everyone and their families to be with us all to dance in the sunshine.’

For more information about the trust, and updates for Snooky Fest 2022, go to www.snookyfest.org.uk.