The organisers of Keswick's annual Christian convention have bowed to public pressure to reschedule next year's event.

A campaign was launched in the town after it was revealed that the dates for the 2018 Keswick Convention were entirely in Cumbria's school summer holidays.

Keswick Ministries, the charity that runs the event, has now agreed to move the dates forward a week, with the event now running from July 14 to August 3, 2018.

Charity bosses said the decision, which followed a survey of supporters and a study of the internal impact of the change, was intended to maximise the tourist season in the town.

A spokesman said: "The charity has decided to reach out to its community and change the dates, while recognising the challenges this will create for its own planning, for some attendees and for the resourcing of the event through volunteers."

Charity trustees have also set the dates for the 2019 convention, which will run from July 13 to August 2, and pledged to liaise with the community before setting dates for subsequent years.

Businesses in the town reacted with fury at the plan to move the convention fully into the Cumbrian school holidays.

Traditionally the event begins a week before schools in the county break up.

Businesses said their takings fell by up to 90 per cent during convention and the six-week school holidays were a key trading time for them.

John Risbridger, Keswick Ministries' chairman, said: "Throughout our history of bringing people to Keswick, we have always relied on the support and goodwill of our local community. It is our desire to make the convention as accessible to individuals and families as possible - and it is on this basis that we have selected dates each year.

"However, we have become aware that the dates announced for 2018 have unwittingly caused a conflict for those in the town, and we have been consulting on how we can best remedy this.

"We want to act in a way that honours our supporters, the people of Keswick, and our Christian faith. We have therefore listened carefully and made the decision to change the 2018 dates, reflecting how highly we value the support of our neighbours across Keswick."

The charity is also looking at other ways to reach out to businesses.

Proposals include setting up a dedicated marquee on the convention site for businesses to promote their trade, and making adjustments to the programme to create more opportunities for synergy with other activities in the town.

The charity is preparing to discuss these and other ideas with business leaders at a round table meeting on Wednesday.

The spokesman said: "We understand that this will cause disruption for our loyal supporters for which we are truly sorry. We have endeavoured to make and announce this decision as quickly as possible, and we hope that this will provide enough notice for those who had made arrangements for 2018 to be able to change them. We will provide support wherever possible to assist with doing so."

Keswick Convention began 140 years ago and now attracts around 12,000 to Keswick each summer.

Anyone with questions or concerns can email communication@keswickministries.org