'Bloodstock wouldn't exist without Ozzy Osbourne'

Tyler Quantrill said Ozzy Osbourne was a "true pioneer"

A man attending a heavy metal festival on the Derbyshire-Staffordshire border said the event would not exist if it was not for his "hero" Ozzy Osbourne.

Bloodstock Festival at Catton Hall in Walton-on-Trent runs from Thursday to Sunday and attracts about 20,000 people each year.

This year's four-day event is paying tribute to Osbourne with a 55.7ft (17m) banner by the main stage where fans can leave messages of condolence.

Tyler Quantrill, who wrote his own message on the banner, said: "Without Ozzy and Black Sabbath, none of us would be here and I probably wouldn't even have long hair."

Mr Quantrill decided to get Black Sabbath's first album cover tattooed on to his forearm

On the banner, the 23-year-old from Northampton wrote "the legacy will be eternal".

"He's a true pioneer and my hero," said Mr Quantrill.

As well as growing his hair just like Osbourne, Mr Quantrill said he had also got a tattoo of Black Sabbath's first album on his forearm.

"I hold the tattoo even closer to me now," he said.

Reflecting on Osbourne's impact on the music industry, Mr Quantrill said: "The fact that four working class kids from Birmingham managed to pioneer a new genre of music, which has inspired the way we live our lives and the sub-culture we partake, is amazing.

"I saw them live for the End Tour in 2017 and it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen."

People wrote tributes to Osbourne on the dedicated banner by the main stage

Other fans have flocked to write their own messages on the banner in dedication to the Black Sabbath frontman.

Mr Quantrill said everyone at the festival was "mourning together".

"The news was tough, because he is someone we have all grown up with. He felt like a friend I never met," he said.

"It's really nice to read some of the other messages, they were really moving to see.

"The impact he had will never die."