Festival praised after 'extremely low' arrests

About 40,000 people attended this year's Kendal Calling

Festival-goers at this year's Kendal Calling have been praised by police after an "extremely low" number of people were arrested.

Cumbria Police said it made 10 arrests over the four-day event, with people held on suspicion of drug offences, assaults, driving offences and one public order offence.

About 40,000 people attended the festival at Lowther Deer Park, near Penrith. Last year's event saw 14 arrests, which were mostly related to drug offences.

Police previously said there would be fewer officers at this year's festival as organisers had increased their own private security to conduct searches.

Ch Supt Matt Kennerley thanked the vast majority who attended the festival and "enjoyed themselves safely and responsibly".

"Although we did make a number of arrests, this number is extremely low in comparison to the large volume of people who attended the festival, and we are pleased that most enjoyed the music and had a great time," he said.

"Unfortunately, there were some serious crimes committed, and we deployed specialist officers to these reports.

"These officers are now working hard to investigate these and provide support to the victims."

Cumbria's Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Labour's David Allen, said Kendal Calling was one of the largest events the police force dealt with each year.

"It is clear, however, that Cumbria, despite its size and full time population base, can deal with pretty much anything, and more importantly, do it well," he said.

Ahead of the event, the Cumbria force said drugs were its main concern and it would have a "full command structure" in place.

It also said amnesty bins would be on site for people to safely dispose of drugs.