Festival closed car park shortly before first act

People attending a music festival in West Yorkshire over the bank holiday weekend were told to park six miles away from the site due to muddy conditions.

Slam Dunk festival organisers closed the event's car park just hours before the it got under way on 26 May and refunded all advance parking passes.

Shuttle buses from Leeds city centre to the Temple Newsam site were put on instead, but some people posted on social media that they had to wait hours to leave for the festival location.

A statement on Slam Dunk's X page apologised for the inconvenience.

Before the festival, organisers wrote that the site had "suffered a lot of rain in the lead up to the event".

"We are extremely saddened to have to make this decision after all the additional plans we have put in place which were proved successful yesterday in Hatfield, but our customer safety is paramount," the statement read, referencing its sister festival in Hertfordshire.

"We apologise for the inconvenience, we ask that you be patient, and we thank you in advance for your co-operation."

Organisers also advised people with mobility issues to avoid the site.

Megan Elliott, posting on Facebook after the festival, wrote: "The queues for the shuttle bus were ridiculous.

"I waited two hours and by the time I actually got on it was almost 1am, so also lost out on money as I paid for an after party ticket but I was way too tired to go after queuing for so long."

'Little choice'

Some attendees wrote on Facebook that the muddy conditions only added to the festival's atmosphere, with many saying it was an improvement on the year before.

"The mud wasn’t even that bad and for one day rain is a bit of fun," Charlotte Scott wrote.

However. she added: "People need to take more responsibility for themselves and wear suitable clothing and footwear.

"It is still a pain getting on and off site though. The taxis were a right rip-off and I needed to rush for a train so had little choice."

Ant Gray added: "[It was a] shame about the parking and a bit more warning would have been great, as I had to change my plans half an hour before I was due to arrive at the festival but [it is] understandable why the car parks were closed.

"I don't think anybody would have wanted to dig their car out of the mud."

Slam Dunk festival declined to comment further.