Frightened parents contacted police and told their children to leave Reading Festival after tents were reportedly set alight and fights broke out.
The disruptions among some of the music fans in multiple areas of the campsite reportedly began at around 4pm on Sunday afternoon. A number of videos posted online showed crowds of young men and smaller numbers of women gathered throwing chairs and other objects into flames that had been lit next to tents.
Some people on Twitter said that tents had deliberately been set on fire. Festival-goer Amber Vellacott, 26, said she and her boyfriend decided to head to their car at around 7pm on Sunday as they feared the violence would continue to escalate.
