It now appears unlikely that Parkrun will return to Bushy Park before 2021.

The event has not happened anywhere in the UK since March due to the pandemic.

There were plans to reintroduce the event in October but these have been put on hold.

Chief operating officer Tom Williams revealed the setback in a live video conference streamed on Friday (September 18).

Earlier this month, after discussions with government and public health officials, parkrun chiefs signalled that their popular 5k runs would resume in October.

But the recent rise in coronavirus cases, plus concerns that many of the landowners, including the Royal Parks, were unwilling to accept this timetable has caused a rethink.

This means the events in Richmond Park, Old Deer Park, Bushy Park – which was the original home of Parkrun – and Crane Park look extremely unlikely to be revived any time soon.

Mr Williams said: "Today, I'm feeling that with the direction of the travel of the virus in the UK, it looks much less likely that we will be able to achieve a late October re-opening.

"Also, from the responses we have seen so-far from landowners, I think it is unlikely that we will see a level of permissions that is conducive towards returning towards the end of October."

Mr Williams suggested that the organisation would need as much as 95 per cent of its 850 events in England to be able to go ahead, before parkrun would be formally relaunched.

The initial statement of an October return was widely welcomed, including by Sports and Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden.

However now the new year looks the more likely outcome for the return of parkrun when hopefully more restrictions lifted.