The traditional Wymondham 10km New Year's Day road race was called off for only the second time in its history after overnight snow and frost had made the course treacherous.

The traditional Wymondham 10km New Year's Day road race was called off for only the second time in its history after overnight snow and frost had made the course treacherous.

But the club is hoping to reschedule the event for later in the month.

A record field of over 450 runners had been due to participate in the popular event - and with the decision to postpone not being taken until the morning around of a quarter of the field turned up expecting to race.

With some having travelled from as far field as Northampton and beyond to compete it was a tough call for organisers Wymondham Athletics Club - but secretary Paul Wightman, while understandably disappointed, insisted they had got it right.

'I can understand the frustration of the competitors who turned up and were ready to race,' he explained.

'Many felt the conditions were okay and it's true that there wasn't a real problem in the centre of town.

'But much of the course runs through the countryside in and around Wymondham and out there the underfoot conditions were really treacherous.

'We inspected the roads out there and with all the ice there no way it was safe for running.

'These days health and safety is paramount and someone could easily have slipped over and suffered a nasty injury.

'We made the decision to call the race off as early as possible - but unfortunately not everyone found out and quite a few people had a wasted journey, which we are sorry about.

'But, as I said, the safety of competitors had to come first,' he stressed.

The club is determined to stage the event in the not too distant future, with Sunday, January 24 being mooted as a possible date.

Runners are advised to visit Wymondham AC's official website www.wymondhamac.org for the latest news on any rearrangement.