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The Best of the West Festival which has been staged at Inveraray Castle every year since 2011 will not go ahead in 2019, it has been announced.

Organisers of the weekend-long music, art and crafts event said a lack of funding was behind the decision.

The festival was non profit-making and received no government financial help.

The Duchess of Argyll, who hosted the event, also blamed a lack of council support - a claim which the council refutes.

She said: "It is a huge regret that we can no longer deliver a family festival beneficial to the community."

She added: "I know many people, including our supporters, employees, local businesses and those who planned to attend this year will be greatly disappointed, but it is best to let everyone know now."

More than 30,000 visitors are believed to have travelled to Argyll to attend the event since 2011.

The organisers claimed the benefit to the local economy was "well over £1m annually".

'Ongoing cuts'

An Argyll and Bute Council spokesman said: "We are disappointed that BOWFest will not go ahead this year.

"We provide funding where possible for events. However, it should be noted that our contribution to BOWFest has been low-level and on an ad-hoc basis, rather than as a key partner.

"Given ongoing cuts to our budgets, expectations of councils have to be realistic and events have to be commercially sustainable. We will continue to do everything possible to promote Argyll and Bute as a great place to live, work, visit and invest."