THE future of a classic car show on Canvey has been thrown into doubt after a school refused use of its facilities, it is claimed.

Canvey Transport Museum’s annual open day is held every October with hundreds of historic cars and motorbikes making the journey and descending upon the island.

However members of the museum’s committee claim they received a call from Leigh Beck Junior School informing them, due to a policy change, the school grounds will no longer be rented to them.

The school, Point Road, Canvey, has recently been acquired by Lion Education Trust.

Committee member Paul Harrison said: “We’ve been holding this event on Canvey since the late 1970s.

“It started as a coach rally because the majority of the vehicles in our museum are old buses and coaches.

“But over the last ten years, the car show part of the event has become hugely successful - so successful in fact that last year, we had to limit the number of cars we could accept because we couldn’t accommodate more in the school grounds.”

At the event, buses and coaches are displayed at the council’s seafront car park at Labworth, and a free link service is provided to the museum and nearby school.

“The school is always brilliant for us, because they have concrete and solid grass areas and it’s an easy walk from the museum to school,” said Mr Harrison. “Nowhere else on the island has the space and access.”

Chairman Gordon Claydon added: “The car show really helps to keep the museum going.

“We accept donations, but we don’t charge for entry to the museum.”

Mr Claydon added: “It’s a great shame, and we’re struggling to understand why. We’ve always been good at cleaning up after the event, and their caretaker always says thank you to us for that. We always do our own risk assessment, too – a child at the show once broke a drain cover, and we replaced it straight away.”

If a new home cannot be found the event will have to return to its roots, as an event for displaying bus and coaches only. The school refused to comment however a spokesman for the trust claimed it has since received a letter from the museum and is considering its response and will make a final decision.