THE credit crunch has hit a street festival along the trendy Limehouse waterfront district of London’s East End. The Narrow Street fete has been put on hold’ this year as sponsors have become hard to find with the economic downturn

By Julia Gregory

THE credit crunch has hit a street festival along the trendy Limehouse waterfront district of London’s East End.

The Narrow Street fete has been put on hold’ this year as sponsors have become hard to find with the economic downturn.

Organisers can’t raise the �10,000 to buy in traditional attractions such as Punch & Judy and bouncy castles as well as paying for toilets, barriers and insurance costs.

Their main backers were estate agents who have felt the crunch.

The popular annual summer fete has been held in Ropemakers Field for the past three years and has raised cash for charities as well as fostering community spirit.

Narrow Street is home to several celebrities including actor Sir Ian McKellen and leading politicians such as Dr David Owen, former Foreign Secretary in the Labour Government in the 1970s, while Gordon Ramsay’s gastro-pub The Narrow’ attracts many celeb diners.