Organisers of a Christmas market have been forced to cancel their carol service after fears about health and safety.

St Peter’s Church in Bethnal Green, London, holds its festive event every Wednesday in the weeks before Christmas.

Local businesses keep their doors open later and carols are sung from 7 to 8pm.

Footage uploaded to social media showed crowds enjoying the seasonal cheer at the singalong.

But some warned they were “packed in like sardines” and feared it was a “disaster waiting to happen”.

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Now the church has taken the step to axe Christmas carolling entirely.

In a statement, a spokesperson said: “With regret we formally announce that carols will not be taking place on Wednesday 13th and 20th December on Columbia Road this year. The crowds of over 7,000 present last week were of such volume on the road that there was a danger to public safety.

“We are grateful to God and to those working at the event that there were no serious injuries.”

The church added that locals, the police and Tower Hamlets Council supported the move, as the service had “become dangerously overrun”.

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They added: “To those who were planning to come to Columbia Road to shop, we hope you will return to do that. For those who are coming for carols alone please go local.”

A regular at the event said of its cancellation: “Being a veteran of this event I can say last night was the worst because it’s a victim of success – overcrowding due to social media.”

Another local bemoaned the sharp uptick in attendees, saying: “It’s ruined now because there are too many crowds, you can’t even hear the singing or the carols.”

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