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Music fans injured in Derbyshire festival 'tornado'
Festival-goers had to be airlifted to hospital after being hurt in a 'tornado', which ripped off the stage roof.
Strong winds tore off the roof of the main stage at the Bearded Theory music festival, at 7.50pm on Saturday on a farm site near Hulland Ward.
Musician John Gill, who had played on the main stage with his band Please Y'Self on Friday, witnessed the storm. Mr Gill said: "I saw this huge black cloud so I legged it down to a tent near the second stage and told people to hold on the poles.
"There was a white maelstrom twisting and tumbling as it went across the site, picking up bits of stuff like a wave towards the main stage – it was very scary.
"The tornado came up roaring like a train and I heard all this crashing, then flashes and sparks of instruments and people screaming.
But then it was gone again in seconds."
Three people were injured when the roof overturned at the festival, attended by 2,500, at Bradley Nook Farm.
An air ambulance flew them to Derbyshire Royal Infirmary, where they were treated for a suspected broken wrist and shoulder, back and neck injuries.
Mr Gill, who helped run the second stage sound system, said: "We were told the main stage flipped so I took a doctor from Wirksworth with me up there.
"We saw a woman under the stage roof and I thought we were going to find bodies and have a real disaster on our hands, but thankfully there were only fairly minor injuries."
Mr Gill praised the organisers, festival-goers and emergency services for their prompt actions.
A festival-goer, who witnessed the chaos, said: "I think it must have been a mini-tornado as it left a line of flattened tents on the campsite.
"The small marquee I was in lifted off the ground and was only held
down by the people in it hanging from the metal rafters."
Bearded Theory continued, with main stage acts moved to smaller stages on Sunday.
Derbyshire Dales District Council, Derbyshire police and the Health and Safety Executive are investigating the cause of the accident.
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Weather for Belper
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -0 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light snow
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
