Festival food stall closed after dozens report falling ill

News imageJosh Collins/Truck Festival A view of the Truck Festival main stage from the crowd. People's hands are reaching up in the air and the stage is lit up in red and yellow bright lights.Josh Collins/Truck Festival
Truck is Oxfordshire's largest music festival

Oxfordshire's largest music festival has confirmed it was forced to shut down a food truck after people reported falling ill after consuming its meals.

Posts shared on social media documented dozens of people who reported falling ill after eating food from the Yorky Roast stall at Truck Festival over the weekend.

A spokesperson for the festival said it had closed the stall in question on Sunday, within 90 minutes of being notified of concerns by onsite medical teams.

The food vendor is operated by Event Mobile Catering Limited, which is based in Cardiff and was contacted for a comment by the BBC on Wednesday.

One festival-goer claimed in a post on social media they had been forced to leave the festival early after feeling "so poorly" after eating food from the vendor.

Sharing their experience on the same thread, one person claimed they had "got the worst food poisoning of my life" from the stall and had to go home early, adding that they were "still gutted".

Another said "Sunday became a complete write off" after eating at the stall on Saturday, adding: "[I] missed a lot of my favourite bands because of it."

'Immediate investigation'

A spokesperson for Truck Festival said it first received reports of the issue from "a number of attendees with similar symptoms" to its on-site medical team on Sunday morning.

"Our health and safety team launched an immediate investigation and identified a third-party food vendor as the suspected source," the spokesperson said.

They explained the vendor "was removed from operation within 90 minutes of the first report" and that it had been reported to Vale of White Horse District Council's environmental health team the same day.

"We share the disappointment and frustration of those whose weekend was affected," the spokesperson for the festival added.

The council said it was aware of a "potential food poisoning outbreak" at Truck.

"We are investigating the issue and are working with the food business, Truck Festival, UKHSA and the trader's own local registering authority," it added.

Truck saw a record crowd of 27,500 people attend this year's festival.

It took place at Hill Farm in Steventon, with indie bands The Maccabees, Two Door Cinema Club and The Wombats all headlining over the weekend.