HUDDERSFIELD’S Pink Picnic has been cancelled this year – and a police inquiry has been launched into the running of the huge event.

The news comes just 12 months after the iconic event celebrated its 25th anniversary.

Last year the Pink Picnic , a celebration of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender life, attracted thousands to Greenhead Park .

The Examiner understands this year’s event was scrapped after the organising committee collapsed.

It is believed some money went missing last year and police have made an arrest.

An investigation by West Yorkshire Police is said to be on-going.

Uncertainty over the running of the event meant Kirklees Council demanded assurances before offering funding for this year.

When a deadline came and went council cash was given elsewhere, forcing organisers to pull the plug.

The Examiner had a statement from the organisers and a further statement on the group’s Facebook page says: “Despite our best efforts we regret to announce that due to a lack of funds and generally not having enough people to run the committee this year there shall not be a Pink Picnic 2013.

“The investigation regarding funds that went missing last year is still on-going and someone has been arrested.

“West Yorkshire Police have asked us not to go into too much detail regarding this for the time being but when the police conclude their investigation the committee will be releasing a full statement.”

The Pink Picnic, Yorkshire’s largest free Pride festival, has grown from humble beginnings. It started out when a group of friends headed to the moors at Binn Wood for an afternoon out in 1986.

Its popularity grew and when it moved to Castle Hill in 1998, around 1,500 people took part.

Ten years later the picnic attracted 5,000 people and a move to farmland in South Crosland followed. Last year’s 25th anniversary event, held at Greenhead Park for the first time, was more music festival than picnic with stalls, beer tents and live performers including X Factor finalist Johnny Robinson.

The Facebook statement says that Kirklees Council outlined a “few issues” over funding which the new committee addressed but not in time and money was allocated to other groups.

The Pink Picnic is traditionally held on the last Sunday in July and organisers promise to return in 2014.

However an “impromptu” picnic is planned for Greenhead Park on Sunday July 28, not run by the Pink Picnic committee. It is billed on Facebook as a “back to basics” event and just a “small gathering.”

The post says: “No committee, no organisers, no stage, no music/acts, no stalls and no policies.

“Just people in a park having a picnic so get your tents and picnic blankets out and let’s have a smashing time.”

At least five bars in Huddersfield town centre are planning a Pink Trail on the Sunday afternoon.

A council spokesman said the Pink Picnic committee told the council early this year that it was unlikely to be able to comply with conditions and when the March 31 deadline came and went funding was allocated elsewhere.