Fakenham Racecourse has abandoned its pre-Christmas meeting due to freezing weather. 

The traditional race day had been scheduled to take place on Sunday, December 18. 

But bosses said the course remained frozen on Thursday and, with no sign of conditions thawing before Sunday, the decision has been taken to call off the fixture.

Attention now switches to the annual New Year's Day meeting, which is due to start at 12.45pm and will have a course record prize pot of £100,000. 

Staff at Fakenham Racecourse have been hard at work improving facilities in recent months, including by doubling the Cool Roxy Bar, building a new female jockeys' changing room and making alterations to the weighing rooms. 

Finishing touches are being applied to a new bar and refreshments building in the Grandstand and Paddock Enclosure, where pints will be poured for the first time on New Year's Day.

The course continues to be the only one in the country to offer some form of free entry to all its races.