Bloodstock festival set to welcome thousands

The Bloodstock Open Air festival takes place at Catton Park in Derbyshire

Tens of thousands of heavy metal fans are expected to attend the Bloodstock festival over the next four days.

Headliners Killswitch Engage, Meshuggah and Megadeth are among bands to play at Catton Park, Derbyshire, until Sunday.

Festivalgoers have been asked to wear pink in memory of Sylvia Lancaster, who founded a charity against hate crime after her daughter Sophie was murdered.

National Highways has suspended planned overnight road closures on the A38 through Staffordshire for the event.

The festival has four different stages, one of them being the Sophie Lancaster stage.

Bloodstock festival continues to encourage punters to wear pink to honour Sylvia's legacy

Sophie was killed in Bacup, Lancashire, in 2007, because she was dressed as a Goth. She was 20 years old.

Her mother Sylvia campaigned for years after and founded the Sophie Lancaster Foundation to support alternative subcultures.

For her funeral, Ms Lancaster had requested everyone wear something pink, and following her death in April 2022, Bloodstock festival continued to encourage punters to wear pink in her honour on the Thursday and Friday of the event.

An official shuttle bus service will also operate between the festival entrance and Tamworth railway station until Monday.

Drivers are being advised to follow the signs to the festival and not their satellite navigation systems.