Bestival music festival 2019 axed amid huge spiralling debts

Four day music event Bestival 2019 has been axed amid huge spiralling debts.

The hugely popular music festival, which has ran for the past 15 years, will not make an appearance in 2019, despite 50,000 people attending last year.

The reason is reportedly due to spiralling debts owed by the festival to Dorset Police, who say they are still yet to receive any payment for policing Bestival and its sister event Camp Bestival.

Around 50,000 people attended last year's festival. Credit: PA

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: "The payment of our 2018 policing services invoice, totalling £141,176 to cover our policing of both Camp Bestival and Bestival is still outstanding.

"We’ve not received any full or part payment towards this."

They added: "Some time ago we were informed by the new event owners that there are no plans to run a Bestival 2019 event."

The hugely popular festival had in the past been held on the Isle of Wight but from 2016 had been held Lulworth Castle in Dorset. Credit: PA

It has also been reported how some of the acts who performed at last year's festival are also still awaiting payment.

The Bournemouth Echo reports London Grammar, who headlined in 2018, were owed £175,000, Plan B was owed £105,000 and Rudimental were owed £24,500.

Aside from debts the event has also been embroiled in controversy following the drug death of Louella Fletcher-Michie.

Louella Fletcher-Michie died after taking drugs given to her by Ceon Broughton. Credit: PA

She died at the festival after taking hallucinogenic drug 2C-P with her boyfriend Ceon Broughton who was of killing her.

He was convicted of manslaughter and jailed for eight-and-a-half years over the death of the daughter of Holby City actor John Michie, at Bestival in September 2017.