FEARS that this year's Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show would be the last have been wiped away.

There was a serious danger that the show would come to an end after it was plunged into a £7,000 deficit.

It had gone into this year's event with reserves of £10,000, but was then hit by a £17,000 loss.

The show, which raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for charity over the past 30-plus years, mainly as the Netley Marsh Steam Rally, was at a crossroads.

In September show secretary, Tony Greenham, told the Advertiser: "We are looking for a miracle."

But when he confirmed this week that arrangements are now well under way for next year's show - from July 20-22 - he said: "Two phone calls after I had said that, there were signs that the miracle could happen."

The turn-around has come as the result of a tremendous amount of hard work behind the scenes as the show organisers battled to maintain the show's viability after seeing overall costs soar to around £90,000.

The major reason for the extra expenditure was the cost of providing all the extras to meet stringent new licensing requirements.

But the foundations for the future, which include some commercial backing to be announced shortly, have now been laid and the £7,000 needed to lift the show out of the red has been raised.

"We have looked at the way everything is run and have had a but of a shuffle around, but all the features which have made the show so popular over the years will be there again in July," said Mr Greenham.