Reading, Leeds festivals prepare 'emergency plans' to cope with severe weather

Organisers of this year's Reading and Leeds festivals have prepared emergency plans in case of severe weather.

The music events, which will take place this weekend, have been forecast to receive a mixture of light rain and cloud, though some sources have predicted thundery showers and hail.

However, the festival's organiser Melvin Benn has promised punters that emergency plans have been outlined in case of severe weather, following the deaths of several people at Pukkelpop in Belgium last week.

Speaking to BBC Newsbeat, Benn explained: "If we had something similar [to Pukkelpop] I know what actions I would take in order to make sure people were safe.

"I have to table top exercises with the emergency services about the actions I would take in the event of all of those things. Believe me, there is no scenario of an eventuality that I have not looked at, including freak storms.

"I know how I would deal with it to ensure people's safety. The level of effort over safety is immense. It's the thing which keeps me awake at night."

He added: "It's difficult to comment how freakish the weather was. Whether the weather was with or without warning. It's virtually impossible to deal with things that are of that intensity without warning.

"Here in the UK, I would like to think, and certainly history has always suggested, that we've always had warning and that we're able to prepare.

"The UK has an exemplary record in terms of safety at festivals. The festivals are all governed by very strict licensing. There has to be sign-off of everything."

Reading and Leeds festivals will kick off tomorrow and play host to four headline acts over three days.

The headliners include Muse, My Chemical Romance, The Strokes and Pulp.

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