Operator Ray Sparks, 70, said the council is bringing the curtain down on the puppetry pandemonium in a bid to save cash.

3

3

His four shows a week during the summer are understood to cost the authority around £2,500.

Punch and Judy has been performed in Eastbourne, East Sussex, since the 1890s.

Ray, who took over 34 years ago, said: “I’m really upset it’s been cancelled.

“It’s a huge part of the traditional seaside experience.

“The council told me they can’t afford it anymore.

“They even told me they might start charging me for a pitch if I planned to fund it myself to carry on.

“It’s a bit out of order.”

The move has not gone down well with tourists either.

Joe Turner, who visits every year with his family, said: “A seaside Punch and Judy show is in our DNA.

“It’s as British as fish and chips and a stick of rock.”

Enda Phelan, 60, who visits from Northern Ireland, said: “I’m stunned and shocked.

“It was one of the highlights of a day on the beach.

“I think the council should find the money.”

Eastbourne Council said it had to make “tough decisions to protect frontline services” amid “unprecedented financial pressures”.

It added the operators have been offered a pitch rent-free for a year.

3