Northern Kin Festival: Organiser defends 'mud bath' event

Out of order signs were put up on some toilets

The organiser of a music festival which was hit with severe traffic problems and toilet issues has defended the event.

Some festivalgoers complained about The Northern Kin Festival in Ushaw, County Durham, which began on Friday 28 April.

Festival organiser Alex Hutchinson said "98% of customers" did not have a negative experience, with a "very vocal" minority facing issues.

Pictures showed boggy conditions, with some vehicles being towed to safety.

The fifth festival, which ran over the bank holiday weekend, included musicians Terrorvision, Hawkwind, Lindisfarne and Levellers.

A number of people had suggested the event be called off in light of water supply issues and lack of disabled access.

Mr Hutchinson said his team had dealt with conditions 'much, much worse'

Mr Hutchinson said complaints had come from less than 5% of customers who had been "very vocal".

"The vast majority of the response has been really positive and supportive."

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

'This isn't the Nevada desert'

"There were massive contingency plans in place for the event which have worked exactly how we said they were going to work.

"It's been a challenging weekend but from our perspective we made it work.

"There's a level of expectation that needs to come when you go to an outdoor festival in the UK. This isn't the Nevada desert, it does occasionally rain and when it rains on a field it gets muddy.

"The team and I have worked festivals for well over a decade. We've worked in far, far worse conditions than this.

"Those plans worked."

Terrorvision and Lindisfarne are expected to perform as planned on the final day of the festival

Festival plans were "double checked" by the emergency services and authorities and were found to be "adequate", Mr Hutchinson said.

Adverse weather plans included bringing in an additional 48 toilets for customers.

He said "a very small number of customers that genuinely couldn't access the terrain", including some in wheelchairs, were to be given an apology and a refund.

"The big lesson from our side is communication. We generally operate with a younger demographic that are generally fluent in the festival atmosphere.

"98% of the customers haven't expressed any negative feedback. If we cancelled, it wouldn't have been fair on them."

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