TWO more Borders events have been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Today (Friday, March 5) the Border Union Agricultural Society (BUAS) has announced two of its summer events have been cancelled.

The Border Union Schools Countryside Day – due to be held in May – and the two-day Border Union Championship Dog Show – which had been scheduled for June 19-20 – will no longer take place.

Ian Fleming, BUAS chairman, said: "We know that this will come as a huge disappointment to many people, but while the vaccination programme continues apace with extremely encouraging results, significant uncertainty about the dates of lockdown-easing remains."

However, organisers are hoping there may be an opportunity to reschedule the dog show for the autumn.

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This latest news comes after the society announced last month that the Border Union Show would not go ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Fleming added: "The safety of the public, exhibitors, contractors, staff and our members, and adherence to Scottish Government guidelines, must remain our priority.

"Each event takes several months to plan and the point had been reached where costs would start to be incurred.

"Without absolute certainty that these events could proceed, the financial risks for the society remained too high and the regrettable decision to cancel had to be made."

The Border Union Kelso Ram Sales is still expected to go ahead on September 10 as it is viewed as "business-critical" due to it being "an important event for the sheep-farming industry".

"We’re also hopeful that the easing of lockdown measures will mean that we will be able to host other events again later this year," said Mr Fleming. "In the meantime, we’re delighted that the Borders Events Centre is currently being used by NHS Borders as a vaccination centre.”

Visit the Border Union website for further updates.