Music festivals cancelled at the last minute

Vix Weaver and James Kingston said they were devastated after the events were cancelled by the local council

Event organisers were "devastated" after two music festivals were cancelled at short notice.

The Summer Solstice Festival was due to take place in Left Field, Weeley in Essex last weekend, but was called off by Tendring District Council days before it was meant to go ahead. A folk music festival at the same location was also cancelled.

James Kingston, spokesperson for event organisers FUMP, said the cancellation had cost the firm £25,000.

A spokesperson for the authority said councillors were concerned about noise.

Vix Weaver, organiser of Keep it Real, Folk, said she was "devastated, gutted and disappointed".

"We have put all of this work into the event and we don't get the reward." she told the BBC.

Mr Kingston said the cancellation of the events has put several other events into question and he feared his company's entire summer season could be in jeopardy.

The council’s licencing sub committee decided to refuse the applications after they heard from residents on 17 July.

The council spokesperson said: “The decision comes after another recent event at the site that, despite partly being affected by weather conditions, still had unacceptable levels of noise, prompting a number of complaints from local residents.”