Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

Two men from Plymouth who had tickets for Boardmasters say they have now booked tickets to see another festival that's being held this weekend after the Cornish festival was cancelled.

Ben Collins and Josh Goodliff - both 21 - said they arrived in Newquay for a night out before the festival and found out it had been cancelled about halfway through their evening.

"When we saw it was official we booked tickets for Boomtown Fair that’s also on this weekend," Mr Collins said.

"That was £251 so if we get a refund on Boardmasters we are okay.”

Josh added the pair are now heading back home to Plymouth "for a night in our beds" and then heading to Chichester for Boomtown.

"I love Boardmasters", he said.

"This was my fifth time and this won’t put me off coming back."

Johnny O'Shea
BBC News Online

A teenager who spent about £450 on this year's Boardmasters festival says he's "never coming to Cornwall again".

Thousands of festival-goers have been left disappointed after the three-day event was cancelled due to forecasted weather conditions.

Dan Ahern, 17, from Canterbury said last year's festival was a "10 out of 10" but "this year is zero".

His friends Grace Harvey, 16, and Kieran Noble, 17, - from Margate and Whitstable - are equally disappointed after catching the Megabus down to Newquay.

Grace said: “I’m going to go home, give my mum a hug and go out clubbing”.

Kieran added that at first, "everyone thought it was a scam".

"We could stay and go camping but it’s just even more money," he said.

"There were meant to be 40 of us coming but the others aren’t here yet”.

Paul Goddard
BBC Weather

The decision to cancel Boardmasters was made with 12 hours' notice.

BBC weather forecaster Paul Goddard said the decision had been made once the weather situation became clear.

"There was a certain amount of uncertainty about where this low pressure system would go and how intense it would be," he said.

"That became clearer yesterday and the decision was taken to issue the weather warnings."

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The cancellation of Boardmasters is a "bitter blow" for the Cornish economy, according to the chief executive of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce.

The three-day music festival was called off due to "forecasted severe weather conditions", organisers said.

In 2018, more than 50,000 people attended and the decision to cancel this year was made after consultation between organisers, police and independent safety advisers.

Kim Conchie said people "do spend a lot of money with a lot of businesses in Newquay and quite a bit beyond Newquay during a four or five-day festival like Boardmasters".

Image source, BOARDMASTERS/ALEX RAWSON

Paul Goddard
BBC Weather

High winds are the reason for the cancellation of Boardmasters, BBC weather forecaster Paul Goddard has said.

He said that while the weather warning currently predicts high winds on Saturday, his weather maps show they are likely to hit Cornwall on Friday night.

Image source, Sam Neil

"On the Boardmasters site you are looking at average wind speeds of around 40mph with gusts of up to around 55 to 60mph as it is quite exposed," he said.

"Your tent could blow away and it could make the stage construction and lighting rigs unstable."

Mr Goddard said the warning for rain - in force from midnight on Friday until midnight on Saturday - would not on its own have been a showstopper.

He said there was also a risk of some thundery activity with lightning causing a potential hazard.

Lisa Hay
BBC News Online

Andy Irvine is in Newquay this morning trying to make fresh plans for his weekend after the cancellation of Boardmasters.

"My bus left Surrey at 21:00 last night to get here for 06:00 but I found out about it a few hours into the journey and there was nothing I could do," he said.

"I'm a little drained to be honest. I have all my camping gear and nowhere to go."

Hayley Westcott
BBC News Online

The chief executive of Cornwall's tourist board says the cancellation of Boardmasters is the "right decision".

Organisers pulled the plug on the three-day music festival due to warnings of severe weather conditions.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for the weekend - one for rain on Friday and another for wind on Saturday.

Malcolm Bell from Visit Cornwall says he understands people will be "upset, maybe angry".

"But, can you imagine an incident where the winds picked up even more and people were injured over the weekend?", he said.

"The question would have been asked: ‘Why was the festival ever held?’"

Image source, BOARDMASTERS/ALEX RAWSON

Twitter

BBC Spotlight

Early arrivals to Newquay this morning are trying to find out how they can get home again after the cancellation of Boardmasters.

Organisers of the three-day music event at Watergate Bay say they had to make the decision in the light of Met Office weather warnings for rain on Friday and wind on Saturday.

Hannah O'Brien and Charlotte-Louise Summers arrived at Newquay from their homes in Bromley, Kent, this morning, having spent more than £500 each on tickets, camping gear and food for the weekend.

"It's frustrating but we are trying to make light of it," said Charlotte-Louise.

Hannah added: "Some of it we can get refunded but a lot of it is on hotels, food and clothes - stuff like that that we are not going to get any use from."

Andrew Segal
BBC South West

Cornwall's Boardmasters music festival has been cancelled due to warnings of severe weather conditions.

The three-day event headlined by the Wu-Tang Clan, Florence + The Machine and Foals, was to take place in Newquay, Cornwall, this weekend.

However, organisers pulled the plug due to "forecasted severe weather conditions", they said.

The music event, due at Watergate Bay, is not due to start until Friday, but people have been already making their way to Newquay for it.

However, the five-day surfing side of event, due to start at nearby Fistral beach on Wednesday, is due to go ahead, the BBC's Fiona Lamdin reports.

Find out the latest here.

Image source, Boardmasters/Alex Rawson