Music fans at this year's Reading Festival have left early due to tent-burning, fighting and looting. The final day of the event, Sunday, August 28, saw out of control music fans in multiple areas of the campsite around 4pm.
Videos online show crowds of young men and women gathering and throwing chairs and other objects into flames that had been lit next to tents. One video was of a fire that had been filmed in the Orange Camp during the day, with another from an unknown area of the site later that evening.
Attendees of the festival have taken to social media to say they saw people set fire to tents deliberately, whilst others stood by or encouraged them reports The Daily Mirror. There was also fighting amongst the festival goers, and looting from the tents reportedly took place.
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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. She told the Mirror: "We saw fires start at about 4pm in various camps, the crews and security were fast on them, but all the kids were surrounding and egging it on, throwing rubbish and cans into them.
"We felt the whole vibe of the camp sites change, and when we saw people start picking up tents and rubbish, throwing them into the trees and across the camps, we thought it was best to pack up and head out, annoyingly so. But it just didn’t feel safe for two grown adults, let alone all the kids there.
"When we left at about 7pm, there was a fair bit of security but not masses. More volunteers who dare not get involved, and I can’t blame them."
The marketing manager added that the disorder "would get worse" once headline act The 1975 had finished their set. As fans tried to leave the site, gridlock was reported in the festival car parks.
Over the past two decades scenes of disorder have been reported on several occasions at the festival, with tent fires and antisocial behaviour most often occurring on the final night.
High profile acts for this year's Reading Festival and sister event Leeds Festival included Arctic Monkeys, Megan Thee Stallion, Dave and Bring Me The Horizon. Festival organisers had been persuaded to offer refunds to some disgruntled fans in the lead-up to the event after Måneskin, Jack Harlow and Rage Against The Machine all cancelled their performances.
Police at Leeds Festival confirmed on Sunday that a 16-year-old boy had died following a suspected drug overdose, and officers believe he may have taken an MDMA tablet at the festival.
Thames Valley Police has been contacted for comment.
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