Windsor shooting may stop Tea Party Festival's move to Reading

Tea Party is in its sixth year and has ran at Windsor Racecourse for the past two

A dance music festival is in doubt over safety concerns after a man was shot at the event two years ago.

The Tea Party Festival was set to move from Windsor Racecourse to Reading's Thameside Promenade to accommodate the demand for tickets.

But Reading licensing officers raised concerns over the organiser's proposed safety measures after a 27-year-old man was shot there in 2016.

Tea Party Fest LTD has been approached for comment.

The festival could see nearly 10,000 people attend.

Licensing officer Richard French said: "The information we have at this current time indicates that a person was shot with a gun within the VIP area of this festival.

"This leads to concerns around the proposed security arrangements for the event here in Reading as well as concern over the nature of the event and the applicant's ability to run a safe event."

We Pop, the promoter of the Tea Party Festival, was previously not allowed to use certain structures at Reading events because they were deemed unsafe, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Thames Valley Police (TVP) officer Declan Smyth said the applicant had been reasonably good at reacting to issues at previous events.

But the force added it had been "poor pre-emptively", citing a family event where a staff member was identified as a sex offender.

Tea Party is in its sixth year and has run at Windsor Racecourse for the past two, with artists such as Example, Kurupt FM and Sigma as headliners.