Organisers have confirmed that the Great East Swim will not be rescheduled after it was postponed last month.

The swim had been due to be held at Alton Water on June 22 but was called off due to safety fears less than 48 hours before.

Following the postponement, organisers Nova International had hoped to stage the event later in the year.

However, following discussions with external partners they have now confirmed that it will not be feasible to stage the event in 2013.

Alex Jackson, event director of the Great Swim Series, said: “The event was originally delayed due to strong winds peaking at 43mph, which would have led to dangerous swimming conditions and meant support kayaks, which are instrumental in monitoring swimmers on course, would not have been able to operate effectively.

“We were very unlucky to see two days of unseasonably bad weather, which meant the fall back position of delaying until the Sunday as in previous years, was not an option.

“Having looked at all options it has not been possible to find a date that would allow us to guarantee both venue availability and the necessary levels of water safety to restage the event during the remainder of the open water swimming season.

“We are extremely sorry to cancel the event but the safety and well-being of our participants will always be our overriding priority.”

All swimmers will be automatically refunded the full entrance fee and offered a discounted entry into the Great London Swim in August.

As a gesture of goodwill, souvenir Great East Swim t-shirts will also be sent out to those who return their timing chips using a Freepost envelope.

More information is available at www.greatswim.org