A decision to stop Tourist Information Centres from selling tickets to its events might backfire, the Three Counties Agricultural Society has been warned.

For the past 19 years TICs in Malvern and Upton have been selling tickets for events at the Three Counties Showground.

But now they have been told that, along with all other outside outlets, they will no longer be allowed to sell tickets.

That means admission for those events run by the Society, the Three Counties Championship Dog Show, Spring Gardening Show, Three Counties Countryside Show and Malvern Autumn Garden and Country Show, will now only be available from the showground's on-site box office, either in person or by telephone.

District tourism manager Angela Lessimore said: "We've noticed a difference in the numbers coming into the shops since they decided not to allow us to sell the tickets.

"We are very upset. Once ticket-buyers were in the shop we could give them other information about things going on in the town. It enabled us to check that they had their accommodation booked, for example.

"We've always worked very closely with the showground. We've been selling the tickets and doing window displays in the shops for years."

The Tourist Information Centres took a ten per cent commission from the ticket price for every one sold.

TCS spokesman Sharon Gilbert said the decision was for administrative purposes.

"The proportion of sales made at the Tourist Information Centres was very, very small. It is far easier to sell them at the showground and we don't think we are going to lose many sales," she said.

But Ms Lessimore warned the decision might backfire on the Society.

"If people have bought their tickets in advance I think they are more inclined to go. If they wait for the day of the event and then see it's pouring with rain they won't make the effort," she said.