In a letter to its members, the Association of Photographers' managing director Kingsley Marten writes that it was forced to postponed the second judging round of the Photographers' Awards "following a freak accident that caused water to damage 70 of the prints being collated for the judging next week."

Marten adds: "The damage occurred because debris that had been blown onto the roof, managed to block and completely seal a roof drain, causing heavy rainfall to well up in a culvert on the roof and then enter the building. Sadly, having come down an interior wall, the water then ran across a ceiling before dripping down on to work, laid out on desks below"

The Association of Photographers has been quick to reassure the concerned photographers that the incident will not affect their chances in the competition. "We have spoken to all those who are affected and are in the middle of arranging for the work to be reprinted, either through our insurers (by a renowned top industry printer, appointed by us and well known to members), or if entrants prefer, they can resubmit new prints themselves," writes Marten.

However, the water damage has cause "a huge amount of extra work" for the Association, which has been forced to delay judging by four weeks. "There is also a knock on effect to the book production," says Marten, "But we hope that this may only be a week or two."

Marten ends on a positive note, announcing that this year's awards will have an After Show Party, details of which have yet to be communicated.

For more on the Association of Photographers, visit the-aop.org.