County Durham music festival hit by traffic, mud and toilet chaos

Jethro Tull, Levellers and Reef are performing at the festival but Evie Harley says it is chaos at the event

A music festival should be "called off" over health and safety fears, revellers at the "mud bath" site have said.

There have been traffic problems and issues with toilets, water supply and disabled access at the Northern Kin Festival in Ushaw, County Durham.

Bosses said supply issues and adverse weather had created a "perfect storm" and they were "deeply sorry" and trying to resolve the problems.

Attendees have told the BBC that people have been put "at risk".

The festival made a return to Ushaw on Friday and promised dozens of acts, including Jethro Tull, Levellers and Reef, with performances running until Sunday.

However, festivalgoers were left queuing for hours before arriving to a field with limited facilities.

Evie Harley, who travelled from Falkirk, Scotland, with her disabled husband, said the event should have been cancelled, adding there were just three toilets for hundreds of people.

"It's a mud bath and it is not going to get any better, it's getting worse," she said.

Out of order signs have been put up on some toilets

Ms Harley said the toilets kept being put out of service, there was no disabled access and cars and motorhomes had become stuck in the mud.

She said: "I have never seen anything like it. Something is seriously amiss".

"If there is a medical emergency, how will they get to them in time?"

She paid more than £700 for a luxury package which contained dedicated showers, luxury toilets and fire pits.

But she said none of that materialised, adding that "it was a joke".

"We feel let down."

Pictures have been shared on social media of large queues outside the event, some believed to be up to three-hours long.

Other attendees claimed they were running out of supplies, including water bottles.

Northern Kin Festival said it had faced "numerous challenges" and had been "deeply upset" following the concerns.

Planning meetings had taken place in the weeks leading up to the event but they were unable to predict a "perfect storm" which involved supply issues and adverse weather, a spokesman said.

He added that the festival would offer refunds to those who had been unable to attend and its teams were trying to resolve the issues for those who were there.

The area has become a "mud bath", festivalgoers say

It said there were plumbers on site to look at the water issues but it was no longer advising those in wheelchairs to attend.

Further portable toilets should be arriving soon, it added.

Ushaw, which owns the site, said an investigation would be launched to "ensure such issues are not repeated".

It said: "Whilst we are not the festival organisers and the stewards are not employed by Ushaw, we recognise our responsibility as the landowner.

"The Durham County Council Safety Advisory Group has approved the event manual for the festival which includes traffic management plans and access routes also approved by Durham Constabulary.

"It clearly has not worked as smoothly as we'd all have hoped".

Joanne Waller, the council's head of community protection services, said public safety was "always our top priority" and that any issues raised would be reported for further investigation with the festival's organisers.

Durham Police has been approached for comment.