A TOTAL of 38 people were arrested at the Creamfields music festival at Daresbury, near Warrington – but police said there were no reports of serious incidents.
Around 50,000 people are believed to have attended the event – the site of which was transformed into a quagmire by frequent downpours of rain.
The weather failed to dampen the enthusiasm of most of the revellers although there were reports of people leaving early because of the mud.
Police said the arrests involved people suspected of offences such as possession of drugs with intent to supply, possession of Class A drugs, theft, theft from a tent, assault, robbery and public order.
Two people were arrested for drink driving offences.
Twenty seven thefts from tents were reported to police during the event. Twelve other incidents of theft were also reported. There were also six reports of assault and three reports of robbery.
Seven Section 27 “Direction to Leave” notices were also issued over the course of the weekend.
A total of 262 people were cautioned over the weekend – many for possession of drugs but some for possession of weapons.
Inspector Gary McIntyre, who was in charge of the police operation, said: “I am really pleased with how the policing operation for this year’s event went. This is the sixth time that Cheshire has hosted the Creamfields music festival and I am grateful for all the continued hard work of our officers and staff and of the police planning team.
“Cheshire Police once again worked closely alongside the organisers of the event to build on the success of previous events. Our main aim was to ensure the safety of festival goers and to minimise disruption for the local community.
“As in previous years, there was really good co-operation between the organisers and all of the partner agencies, which resulted in a highly successful event for all concerned.
“There were no reports of any serious incidents during the event and, as a result of meticulous planning, a high-profile police presence and a proactive approach by police and the organisers, a good natured crowd were once again able to enjoy it safely.”
Festival goers were warned before the event that positive action would be taken against anyone caught carrying drugs or weapons.
Searches were a condition of entry and festival goers were asked to place any drugs or weapons in amnesty bins provided at the entrance to the event arena.
There were a few problems with traffic heading to the site on Friday and Saturday morning – with some congestion on the M56 and on local roads, which caused some delays for festival goers trying to get to the site.
But overall drivers listened to the advice they were given and followed the official routes.
Warrington Borough Council had set up a hotline to enable people to complain about noise and other issues, but claimed there were no more complaints received than in previous years when the festival spanned two days rather than this year’s three.
However, warrington-worldwide received numerous complaints from people in Appleton, Grappenhall and Walton of late night noise.
In particular there were a lot of complaints from the Hatton area,
Even as far away as Lymm, residents complained about being to hear the bass notes of the music.
Pictures show the muddy conditions at Creamfields.
2 Comments
Looking at the state of the fields, I understand that a local farmer will be planting a crop of rice there this year.
“there were no reports of serious incidents”….. theft, assault, possession of drugs with intent to supply, robbery, possession of weapons and possession of class A drugs………. so do the plod only class murder as a serious incident these days then? amazing