GATE dodgers gaining free entry to Malvern's Three Counties Showground are costing its owners a "staggering" £30,000 a year, it has been revealed.

During last year's Three Counties Show alone, security staff caught as many as five people every half-an-hour chancing their luck.

Fed up with the losses, the Three Counties Agricultural Society has now warned anyone thinking of sneaking in that there will be a major clampdown this year and offenders will face court action.

"A £30,000 loss in revenue represents a staggering deficit to the society's income and a serious impact on its resources," said finance manager Gareth Smith.

"In real terms, it means that capital investment schedules for improvements to the site are slowed down considerably."

He added that security staff patrolling gates at last year's Three Counties Show recorded as many as five attempts at unauthorised entry every half-an-hour, ranging from abuse of badges to passing back tickets.

"As a result, we will be implementing changes for better control in areas of both gate security, and the distribution and usage of tickets and badges," added Mr Smith. "More significantly, however, we intend to prosecute anyone attempting to defraud the society."

New procedures will be up and running for the National Spring Gardening Show, organised in conjunction with the Royal Horticultural Society, which is planned for May.

The showground is busy for two-thirds of the year with visitors coming to its events from all over the country. It has also been chosen as the venue for this year's Equine Fair and International BMW Motorcycle Rally.

Its main event - the Three Counties Show - regularly attracts around 100,000 visitors.

Any cash regained as a result of the new security measures will be ploughed back into site development and general maintenance.