'Young people don't seem to drink as much'

Pub owner Andy Becalick said Reading Festival appeared to be quieter than previous years

A pub owner said despite thousands of people attending the Reading Festival a stone's throw away, this year seems to be quieter for business than previous editions.

Andy Becalick owns The Moderation pub in Caversham Road, which is passed by many of the 90,000 people attending the music festival.

"It's a very young audience. Young people don't seem to drink as much as the older fellers, so if the line-up is one that's going to attract a lot of drinkers, we feel the benefit," he said.

"Last year Liam Gallagher played, so we were really busy with people who were interested in drinking. This year doesn't seem to be like that."

When he took over The Moderation 18 years ago, he said the festival was "mayhem".

"There was a bigger police presence because they needed it. I'm sure they're here but in the background because they're not needed on the streets," he added.

"Our demographic completely changes [over the weekend] so we're not sure what's going to happen. This year's been one of those where we have probably been a little less busy than we'd like."

Ian Carroll is a Reading Festival regular - but does not camp there any more

Ian Carroll has attended almost every Reading Festival since his first in 1983, only missing editions in 1990 and 1995.

He wrote the official history of the festival in 2007 and is preparing a second volume to include those events from 2007 onwards.

As part of the preparation, he interviewed The Kooks on Friday.

Rather than camping at the site, he now stays in hotels for the festival weekend.

"It's good to go back and having a nice sleep without someone banging bongos or shouting, 'Alan', or something in their tents," he said.