Music festival issues campfire warning to guests

A music festival is asking attendees not to light campfires this year, because of the dry weather.

Farmer Phil's Music Festival, at Ratlinghope in Shropshire, also said it had put out more fire extinguishers, buckets of sand and water tanks around the site.

Following a spate of wildfires in the West Midlands this summer, Matt Gurden, one of the festival directors, said: "Most people that come are pretty sensible and they fully understand that they're not allowed any fires this year."

The three-day event starts on Friday and includes headline acts Mud, Blockheads and The Wurzels.

The festival has allowed barbeques for cooking, but said they must be raised off the ground, supervised at all times, and that people using them must have a bucket of water kept beside it.

Organisers also asked that when people finish cooking, they must fully extinguish their barbecue and dispose of any hot coals in the designated hot ash bins.

If anyone is found disobeying the rules, they may be asked to leave the festival.

Gurden also suggested to burn gas instead of charcoal if they wanted to cook.

Farmer Phil, whose real name is Philip Stewart, said there would be more than 40 bands performing this year.

He has been holding the festivals for three decades and these days he leaves booking the bands to others, including his daughter, but he is still heavily involved in the event.

He said: "We've got to allow barbeques, because it's where people cook their food," but they had "water everywhere" in case of an incident.

The band he is most looking forward to seeing this year was Mud, because they were his era.

But he added: "Any boom, boom, boom stuff I can't bear. I shall go to the bar."

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