Traders who cooked up a storm at the Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival are eager for the event to carry on.

Many of the food stalls made thousands of pounds in profit over the four days and say the festival helps showcase their businesses.

The festival is under threat as organisers, the Huddersfield Partnership, has run out of money and has been forced to make its paid staff redundant.

Simon Brown, who runs Jerk Hut in Longroyd Bridge, said the festival was huge for him and he would have made at least £5,000 profit.

His Caribbean jerk chicken and curried goat proved popular and Simon said: “It was my first year but I was already looking forward to next year.

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“The festival seems to be going from strength to strength and some of the drinks stalls make a mint. We want the festival to go on.”

Karl Baird, manager at the Ox and Bone in Huddersfield, said it would be a “crying shame” if the festival folded.

“It’s a wonderful event for the whole area and really puts Huddersfield’s independent businesses on the map. It’s hard work for us but everyone enjoys it.”

Valerie Kolat, who runs Dapur Malaysia, was at her second festival. She’s now got a regular stall at the Packhorse Kitchen in Huddersfield and said it was vital to help get her name out there.

“We only broke even last year but this year we made a decent profit,” she said. “The event has grown and grown and the atmosphere was buzzing.

“Some festivals charge traders a fee and take a percentage. Maybe that’s what Huddersfield should do.”

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Simon Haigh, of Bolster Moor Farm Shop at Golcar, has been a regular since 2010. “It started out as a way to promote our business and that’s still more important to us than making money.

“The public love it and we saw the same people every day, certainly two or three times,” he said. “It’s a good event for the town as a whole right down to public transport and taxis.”