Tens of thousands of punters were left disappointed when the world’s only Vulcan bomber failed to take to the sky at a popular air show.

The Shoreham Airshow’s headline act was grounded due to a fuel leak yesterday on the second day of the event.

Now the future of the X558 Avro Vulcan at the show looks bleak as organisers “relook at their strategy” to book the £20,000-an-appearance plane.

An airshow spokesman said: “The sad news is obviously that the Vulcan didn’t fly.

“We’re going to have to relook at our strategy. By spending all that money that we have on the Vulcan on something else we could get two or three really good aircrafts to replace it.

“We booked the Vulcan in good faith and unfortunately it’s just a sign of the times. We’re extremely sorry to the people who came to see it but it’s out of our control.

“It’s a favourite aircraft but it’s an obvious no-go.

“The show has been the biggest in history, we had 40,000 to 50,000 people here last year and this year it was busier again, you really couldn’t move.

“We had aircrafts that had never been in the show, and overall it was a massive success.”

The Vulcan never made it out of Doncaster and it will be fully assessed this week.

A spokesman for the aircraft said: “The aircraft was being prepared for the Shoreham show and the Bournemouth show at lunchtime and we spotted a fuel leak.

“The problem was that we just didn’t have time to put it right and it will only fly if it’s 100% right. It’s obviously very disappointing both for us and those who wanted to see it.”

Brighton engineer Malc Hales, 52, who had planned his weekend around seeing the Vulcan, said: “It’s all about money, and it’s a really important piece of kit.

“It kept us safe during the Cold War and my dad worked on the plane – it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.

“As an engineer it’s part of my life, so although I can accept it’s getting old, it’s still so important.”

Linda Wilson, who bought her husband Peter a golden ticket to fly in a glider at the airshow, said: “It’s the first time they’ve done this as an auction, so I bought it for him as a Christmas present last year.

“I don’t think he was expecting to go loopy-loopy in the plane, but he went upside down and in circles, it was marvellous.

“He always told me he wanted to go up in a glider, and he loved it, that’s what it’s all about.”