Woman âfractures kneeâ in Boardmasters crowd surge
A woman who attended a music festival in Cornwall said she suffered a fractured knee in a crowd surge on Friday.
Jade Brooks, 23, said the Boardmasters event, in Newquay, was a âdisgraceâ after âaround 10 peopleâ fell on her during a âcrowd crushâ.
She then âheard the crunch as someone landed on itâ.
Organisers said âexperienced pit management and security teamsâ had been in place âwith robust medical and welfare provisionâ.
âPacked like sardinesâ
Ms Brooks, who is based in Yorkshire, said she arrived at The Point stage with her brother, 17, and cousin, 19, an hour before the DJ set.
She said: âWe then stood up to get a good view of the stage when more and more people were flocking in.
âThis is where we were getting pushed into by people trying to get to the front, which caused us to be packed in like sardines.â
She said she wanted to get out of the crowd but everywhere she turned there was âno way to get outâ.
âThe crowd then pushed back and caused everyone to fall, with me being the bottom person and I had about 10 people fall onto my legs,â she said.
âI was screaming: âMy legs,â when I heard the crunch as someone landed on it.â
Ms Brook, who is a dancer and works in hospitality, said security told her to go to the welfare tent where âhundreds of people were waitingâ.
The following morning, she explained how she âwoke up in agonyâ and her leg was âswollen to twice its usual sizeâ.
She visited an emergency department where an X-ray revealed a fracture in her knee.
Ms Brooke said: âBoardmasters are a disgrace. They should have had security stopping people from coming in to reduce the amount of people so it wouldnât cause crowd surges.
âI want my money back, along with compensation for destroying my holiday and when I return home â I wonât be able to work for over a month.â
The festival has seen several injuries this year, with bosses confirming on Saturday that seven people were taken to hospital âfor precautionary examinationâ.
On Sunday, bosses added that âexperienced pit management and security teamsâ had been âin place across the festival with robust medical and welfare provision including highly experienced and trained medical, welfare and safeguarding staffâ.
They added: âThese teams are available in the main arena and campsites 24 hours a day, for anything our audience might need.â
Devon and Cornwall Police said on Saturday they were notified to a âcrowd collapseâ at the festival on Friday which âleft a small number of attendees injuredâ.
The force added: âContrary to speculation, we can confirm that there have been no deaths as a result of this incident.â
Additional reporting by Aisling Grace & PA Media.
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