Revellers at a music festival in Northumberland were evacuated from the site on Sunday evening because of concerns over lightning. Those attending Party in the Park in Morpeth were asked to leave the event while a thunderstorm passed.
Attendees who had purchased a weekend camping ticket were told to wait in their tent, car or caravan. However, some who had bought a Sunday day ticket made their way home as they had nowhere to shelter.
Festival reopens after 90 minutes
Around 90 minutes later, customers were told that the festival, which was held in a field near Craik Park, was back on. Some of the tribute artists were rescheduled, while others, such as the Sam Fender act, were cancelled altogether.
In an initial Facebook post, organisers said: "For everyone's safety, we are currently evacuating the festival site due to an incoming thunderstorm. Please follow instructions from our team and remain safely in your cars, tents or caravans until the storm has passed and we confirm it is safe to return."
They added: "Where possible, affected acts will be rescheduled. We know this is disappointing, but the safety of everyone on site — our guests, artists, crew and traders — has to come first." Customers were also told to "stay away from fencing and power lines".
Lightning struck four times within two miles
In a follow-up post, organisers said: "Thank you SO much for your patience and understanding while we waited for the storm to safely pass. The gates are now OPEN and we’re ready to get this final night of PITP back underway!"
They later clarified that lightning was the main concern, posting: "It wasn’t delayed for the rain. It was the lightning that hit 4 times within 2 miles of us. If it rains heavy again we will be staying open. But if the lightning hits close we have to take everyone's safety into account."
Day ticket holders express frustration
Some day ticket holders aired their frustrations on the festival's Facebook page. One person posted: "So we didn't have a car, tent or caravan - we had to head home!! Please advise on your refund policy."
Another commented: "So what about those that had no where to shelter so had to head home?!!! We were told to leave the site now missing out on the acts we actually wanted to see!!" A third person said: "Everyone who had a day pass has left. What a wash out, no need to evacuate at all, was ridiculous, waste of a ticket."
A fourth person added: "We can't get back as we were ordered to evacuate with nowhere to go. Our safety was not anyone's priority when were asked to leave to cars and tents (neither of which applied if you were dropped off there.) You can't then expect people to leave the site as requested, get in a taxi to do so, and then return to the festival in another taxi (bank holiday rates.) again. The acts I booked for are not now on either. I'd like a refund please."
Organiser defends evacuation decision
Andy Holden, who organised the festival, told ChronicleLive: "We made a professional decision and it was the right one. Within 90 minutes we got everyone back in. It was a collective decision from my team. We had to do that for people's safety."
He added: "It was a fantastic day until we had to make that decision. All we wanted to do was get people out of the marquee to protect people's safety. At the end of the day we just wanted people to get away from infrastructure and disperse people."
Holden said: "I told them to go back to their tents and cars but the day ticket holders have got nowhere to go really. Once we reopened, 85% to 90% of people came back in." He noted that "everyone was absolutely fine" and that some bands were rescheduled, while others were cancelled.
Holden said around 80% of festival-goers had purchased a weekend ticket, and that the couple of hundred people who bought Sunday day tickets were most affected. When asked about refunds, he said: "These people will get some sort of ticket for next year."
