Sherborne Castle firework display: Ticket-holder refunds after 'fiasco'

The annual event at Sherborne Castle was cancelled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Organisers of a fireworks display labelled a "fiasco" say they are giving refunds to "eligible" ticket-holders.

Dozens of people complained on social media about the organisation of the event at Sherborne Castle, Dorset, on 6 November.

Many spent more than an hour queuing to get on site, while others were turned away at the gates.

The event team said it had "taken the feedback on board" and was issuing refunds.

Posting on its Facebook page, one user described it as the "worst fiasco ever", while another said it was "unorganised chaos".

Organiser Steve Martin said: "Refunds have been going out to eligible customers - those who were still in possession of their paper tickets, which showed they hadn't managed to get on site."

'No choice'

He said as well as those who had pre-paid tickets, the team had anticipated a further 4,000 visitors on the gate.

However, he said "unprecedented" numbers of people turned up and "a decision was made to shut the gates as it was at maximum capacity".

"It was a safety issue, we had no choice," he added.

He said refunds would not be issued to those who had complained about long queues for food.

"You don't go to a big event like that and expect there not to be queues for food," he said.

Mr Martin said the team and Sherborne Castle Estate would meet in January to discuss how the event would be managed next year.

"We have taken the feedback on board - we have listened," he said.

He previously said: "It would appear that many firework displays across the UK were inundated with spectators as this is the first real post lockdown Nov 5th season."