Boardmasters 2024: 11 people arrested for drug, sex and assault offences

Eleven people were arrested at Boardmasters 2024 last weekend, with the charges relating to drug offences, sexual offences and assault.

The five-day festival took place in Newquay, Cornwall between August 7-11, with Sam Fender, Stormzy and Chase & Status topping the bill.

On Friday night (August 9) a “massive crowd surge” at the event “left a small number of attendees injured”, according to Devon & Cornwall Police. They described it as an isolated incident, and confirmed that “none of the injuries [were] considered serious”.

Several punters subsequently spoke out. One woman who attended Boardmasters with her daughters described the “carnage” she saw: “There were kids everywhere. There were kids crying, there were kids holding their legs, there were kids being carried.”

She also recalled finding a boy who was “really badly hurt”.

Now, Devon & Cornwall Police have reported that 11 people were arrested throughout the festival (via Falmouth Packet). The charges relate to drug offences, sexual offences and assault.

Three people were charged in connection with drug offences, with four people being released on bail. Two people were cautioned, and another two people were released with no further action.

However, police said that its operation to support the 58,000-capacity festival was successful despite the arrests made.

Russell Dawe, Superintendent at Devon & Cornwall Police, said in a statement: “Each year we work with partners and event organisers as part of the multi-agency planning process and we have the collective aim to support and deliver a safe and enjoyable event for all.

“In collaboration with the festival organisers, our focus has been safeguarding those attending the event and the development of a safe environment, and where necessary having the correct support in place.”

Speaking specifically about the crowd surge, Dawe continued: “Unfortunately, we did have an incident in the crowd on Friday 9 August which resulted in some people being injured.

“Most of these were treated by medical staff on site but seven were transferred to hospital from the event. All were discharged after treatment.”

He added: “We recognise how such events can cause concern for those involved, especially with those that received injuries, and so it will be our priority to ensure the incident will be considered as part of our planned debrief after the event.”

Dawe went on to say that Devon & Cornwall Police had “disrupted criminality and the supply of drugs, reduced anti-social behaviour, and supported any victims of crime or those with vulnerabilities”.

If you need to speak to us, you can get in touch by emailing boardmasters@visionninegroup.com. pic.twitter.com/Lj5yFEmizr

— Boardmasters (@boardmasters) August 11, 2024

He explained: “As part of our partnership approach, the organisers have very good welfare and safeguarding arrangements in place. We provided specialist officers to help respond immediately to any reports of sexual offences or concerns around drink spiking. This meant those small number of people impacted had immediate support by knowledgeable and expert staff and where required, we commenced a swift investigative response.

“Overall, I am really pleased and proud of the efforts police officers, staff and partners have made to deliver the security operation, and the proactive and preventative measures we undertook.”

Dawe concluded: “We continue to develop and improve our approach to event policing to keep festivals of this nature safe and secure.”

A spokesperson for Boardmasters 2024 said: “We would like to thank our partners at Devon & Cornwall Police, who we work in close collaboration with year-round and during the festival period, for their continued expertise and contribution to Boardmasters.”

Following the crowd crush incident, the festival continued as normal, and organisers invited people to email them if they needed to discuss their experience. You can get in touch at boardmasters@visionninegroup.com.

Earlier, a 16-year-old told BBC News that the festival “should be 10 times smaller”, particularly given that Boardmasters got permission to increase its capacity by thousands this year. He said the large crowd around him “fell like dominos”.

In other news, Saturday night (August 10) saw headliner Sam Fender invite a superfan to the stage to perform ‘The Borders’ with him.

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