The final chairman of the West Mid Show today revealed how she resigned after losing her fight to save the showpiece event.

Annie Home-Dodd said she “passionately disagreed” with a decision to place the organisation behind the Shrewsbury show into voluntary liquidation and believed a rescue package could have been put together.

But society officials said they had done everything possible to try to save the show.

Yesterday the Shropshire Star revealed trustees had on Wednesday voted to bring in an insolvency specialist after being advised the Shropshire and West Midlands Agricultural Society, the registered charity behind the show, could no longer continue trading.

It owes up to £160,000 to about 50 creditors. Three jobs have been lost in the move. Mrs Home-Dodd, the first woman chairman of the Shropshire and West Midlands Agricultural Society, said she believed the show could have been saved.

“On Thursday I resigned as chairman and trustee of the society following a decision by the board of trustees which I passionately disagreed with to liquidate the society.

“This followed a trustees’ decision a few days earlier to seek a creditors voluntary arrangement linked to a new business plan which I believe would have allowed the society to pay its creditors over a period of time.

“I am distraught that after 120 shows it shall close and local businesses will suffer financial losses, both now and through the loss of business in the future, not to mention that the town and county will now lose a valuable attraction.

“When I became chairman 12 months ago I was aware that the financial situation was precarious but I believed that the situation could be recovered. I still believe that with some radical changes this could have been possible.”

But treasurer Keith Winter said: “I am of the opinion that a CVA would not have worked, as was the insolvency practitioner, because the society has no income for the next three months on which to trade.”

Mr Winter laid the blame for the demise on the chairmen and trustees over the last 10 years. He said: “They’ve had one of the best shows in the country because they’ve spent too much money on it every year. It has been losing cash for 10 years and all the chairmen and all the trustees are really at fault in this.”

Roy Kempster, chairman from 1998 to 2001, said: “It’s very easy for the present treasurer to make a comment like this when he has only been involved with the show for the last two or three months.

“After the last show for which I was chairman of the society there was £400,000 in the bank but then there was, of course, all of the expense caused by foot and mouth.”

Tudor Bebb, chairman from 2001 to 2004, said he believed Mr Winter’s comments were fair for the last 10 years or more, but he said the overspend had been a more recent issue. He said a lot of blame had been laid at Mrs Home-Dodd, but said this was “completely unfair” and she had “inherited the problems”.

David Tudor, who was chairman from 2004 to last year, said foot and mouth in 2001 cost the society £180,000.

He said it was “very sad” that the society had been forced to make the difficult decision but added: “I’m hopeful most of the creditors will receive a good return for their money.”

Gary Tudor, commercial director of the society, said: “It is a very sad day for the society and I can assure people that everything that could be done to save the society has been done.”

Check out today’s Shropshire Star for the full background to the end of the West Mid Show.