Safety

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SAFETY TIPS

Farmfestival and the Avon and Somerset Police have teamed up to provide information to both festival goers and parents alike that may help those who will be attending the festival this year.

We strongly recommend not bringing any. However, if you must then Campsite Assistance Teams (CATs) have UV pens that you can use to write your postcode or name onto any valuables for easy identification!


Keep your cash and cards separate so that if one lot goes you have back up.


Don’t carry anything valuable on a lanyard – unless it is kept hidden under a shirt or jumper.


Don’t carry anything in back pockets.


Don’t leave anything valuable in your car – leave your glove compartment open and empty.

If you have any concerns about your safety in the campsites camp somewhere well lit.


Introduce yourself to campsite staff, show them where your tent is, stick a funny flag on it so it’s easy for them to see, and ask them to keep an eye out, they will.


Introduce yourself to your neighbours and set up a neighbourhood watch system, it may sound naff but experience shows that the best and friendliest campsites are the ones with people in that make the effort to do so. More friends to party with too!


Report anything or anyone suspicious to campsite staff.


Don’t put a padlock on your tent as this will invite thieves.


Don’t bury your valuables by your tent as someone is bound to be watching.

Check your mobile is charged regularly so you have battery for the night when it’s dark when the stages get busy and you are more likely to lose friends.


Keep your phone well hidden.


Stay in groups and be tolerant of friends slowing you down.


Arrange an easy meeting point with your mates, three times a day (e.g. 2pm, 6pm and 1am) and that you will be there if you get split up.


If you do become a victim of crime – do not resist – give them what they want and make sure you get a good look at them or their clothes, so that when you report them we have a good head start. Also, make a note of exactly where you are.


Further Crime Reduction advice can be found at the Avon and Somerset Police site www.avonandsomerset.police.uk

If you need to contact Avon and Somerset Police to report a non-emergency crime or to provide information on a crime whilst attending the festival, please call 101.


If it is an emergency you can always call 999. It is an emergency if a crime is being committed, if there is a risk of injury or a risk of serious damage to property.


If you wish to contact the organisers of Farmfestival directly, then the office phone is manned 24 hours a day during the festival.

Do not bring drugs to Farmfestival. Our gate staff will be searching for many disallowed and illegal items, including drugs, and anyone found in possession of drugs will face rejection from the event at the gates and may be handed over to Avon and Somerset Police.


If you have brought drugs with you, then you can drop them into the Amnesty Bin at the main gate – no questions asked.


Farmfestival has a no tolerance policy on drugs. It is illegal to take, to buy or to sell drugs. Drug enforcement laws are as applicable on site as anywhere else in the country. If you deal in drugs, it is likely that you will be arrested via security and handed over to Avon and Somerset Police. There are plain clothes police and security onsite who will take action as appropriate.


Experimenting with drugs can lead to adverse reactions. Drugs can kill. The crowds and the sheer size of the festival can be very frightening and disorientating and taking drugs could spoil your enjoyment of the event. If you do take drugs and you become ill, depressed or frightened please ask a steward to direct you to one of the many facilities on site which can help and support you, like our welfare tent in yellow campsite.


Farmfestival will not tolerate legal highs, we strongly recommend you do not buy or bring them in to the festival. You face eviction from the festival if you do.


You may be body searched at the gates, at the Arena entrance and upon exit from the festival site. This is in line with crime reduction strategies with Avon and Somerset Police. Persons suspected of carrying items which may be used in an offensive or dangerous manner, or carrying out illegal activities within the Arena or other parts of the site may be searched, evicted and/or arrested.

Farmfestival has a formal ejection policy for festival goers that are seen displaying, or inciting, inappropriate, offensive or illegal activity. Those evicted will not be re-admitted to the event and tickets will not be refunded. If you are ejected you will not be permitted back to your tent to collect your belongings. Instead, you will be offered a phone call to a friend on site who will have to pack your stuff down and take it home for you.


Unacceptable behaviour that can lead to eviction includes, but is not limited to:


-Any Illegal activity

-Anti social and / or offensive behaviour

-Throwing of objects in the direction of people

-Encouraging others to behave badly by incitement

-Preventing our security or emergency services reacting to a situation

-Taking tents with the intent of burning them

-Building bonfires


Security staff will take the ejectee to the Site Security Office, where they will give a member of the Farmfestival management team their report. The evictee will then have their photo and personal details taken. They will be given the opportunity to make a statement, before any decision on their eviction is made.


The member of the Farmfestival management team will then assess the situation and decide whether to issue a warning and let them back in, or whether to take their wristband and ask security to eject them from the event, or pass them to the police if appropriate.


If they are ejected, they will be escorted off site and taken to Bruton, where they will have to make their own way home, and they will not be permitted back into the event. They will not be permitted back to their tent to collect their belongings. Instead, they will be offered a phone call to a friend on site who will have to pack up their stuff and take it home for them.

We ask everyone coming to Farmfestival to consider others. Farmfestival will not tolerate anti social behaviour. We define anti social behaviour as that which interferes with the enjoyment of others. People being anti social will be evicted from the site. Anyone that is evicted for anti-social behaviour will receive a life time ban to all Farmfestival events. Their details will also be passed on to Avon and Somerset Police.


If you have any concerns or wish to report anyone who may be being anti-social, of offensive, please ensure you speak to a member of our security or stewarding team. They are wearing tabards with unique numbers, and take all reports of anti-social behaviour seriously police for court purposes.

Please don’t crowd surf, it is dangerous and can result in injury to yourself and others. And if you find yourself on the wrong side of the barriers at the front of the stage you risk being evicted from the arena.

Anyone seen attempting to climb over the barriers or gain access to the stages risks being evicted from the arena. If it is necessary to do so for reasons of safety then common sense will prevail.

People caught fence jumping will be ejected from the site.

They may look amusing coming over and running from security but you have to ask yourself what are they doing and why? They haven’t paid like you have. They probably don’t have a tent so they aren’t planning to stick around. They won’t have a wristband or ticket and so they won’t get into the arena, which means that they will be hanging out in the campsite areas with nothing constructive to do by your tent.


Report them please, for everyone’s safety and to keep tent thefts and other crimes down.

When you report a lost item to the Site Office onsite, you will be issued with a festival lost property reference number.


If you have arrived home and found you are missing something, please email enquiries@farmfestival.co.uk with as much detail as possible with your details and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

We have an onsite fire team of retained fire fighters who are fully equipped to deal with any fires. Alongside this, there are fire observation towers with spotter stewards on top located around the campsites and car parks, keeping an eye out for fires and incidents.


There are fire extinguishers located throughout the site and many of the stewards and security staff have been trained in fire safety and the use of fire equipment in addition to the onsite fire fighting team. Many of our campsite staff will also have been trained and will be using some of our fire extinguisher water backpacks.


No fires are allowed anywhere at all and we are likely to be prosecuted for any seen, so please help the event by not starting any! This in order to limit damage to the farm.  This means that:


Bonfires are not permitted anywhere. Anyone seen creating a bonfire or a fire in the arena will be subject to being evicted from the site immediately.


No campfires are be permitted anywhere on site. Any campfires will be extinguished. 


Burning tents, metal poles, wellies, sleeping bags, plastic, rubbish, unwanted items etc is not only dangerous, but produces toxic fumes. Please do not burn them when we can put them to good use in the future by handing them in at Recycling Points.


A few other good pointers:


-Candles are plain dangerous; torches are far less of a fire risk in and around tents.

-Watch out for flying embers and sparks, as they could start a fire, even from some distance.

-Never use petrol or paraffin to start or revive a fire.

-If you cook, always do it outside, ensure that there is constant supervision and keep well away from any flammable materials.


The zone manager in your campsite will be able to help you on any fire issues or questions you may have.


Fire and Carbon monoxide

To help revellers stay safe and have fun, NHS Choices – the health information website for the NHS – and Gas Safe Register – the government approved gas registration body – have published separate safety guides offering practical tips on how to stay festival safe when using disposable barbecues or any type of camping stove.

Never take a portable barbecue – or lit charcoal – into an enclosed space like a tent or caravan. Make sure exhaust from generators is properly vented away from occupied areas Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colourless, odourless, highly poisonous gas that can kill in minutes. Carbon Monoxide poisoning can be caused by any fuel that burns or smoulders.


Watch out for the symptoms:


-Mild headache

-Dizziness

-Nausea

-Vomiting

-Fatigue

-Drowsiness


What you should do if you see a fire.

You must get everyone out of the tent, evacuate the area as quickly as possible and get help from the nearest steward or security who will call the onsite Fire Team.


In the campsites, you can go to the nearest Fire Point (situated in the campsites and easily visible). In the unlikely event that you cannot find a member of security or steward nearby, then please dial 999. 

You may discover a fire in its very early stages and think that you can deal with it yourself. The first thing to remember is that fire spreads very quickly. Even a small contained fire can quickly spread, producing smoke and fumes which can kill in seconds.


If you are in any doubt, do not tackle the fire, no matter how small. You can put yourself at risk by fighting the fire. If in doubt, get out, get the onsite Fire Team out and stay out.


Many people put out small fires quite safely. However, some people die or are injured by tackling fires which are beyond their capabilities.


Here is a simple fire code to help you decide whether to put out or get out:


-Only tackle a fire in its very early stages

-Always put your own and other peoples safety first

-Make sure you can escape if you need to and never let a fire block your exit

-Fire extinguishers are only for fighting a fire in its very early stages. Never tackle a fire if it is starting to spread or has spread to other items nearby

-Around 70% of fire deaths are caused by people being overcome by smoke and fumes

Fireworks and flares are not allowed onsite.

In addition to our gas canister and cylinder policy we will not be permitting aerosols over 250ml in size onto site. This is for the same reasons as our gas canister policy, so please also help us with this and keep the campsites a safer place.


We suggest that if you want to cook outside your tent that you bring disposable BBQ’s only. They are also available at the nearby supermarkets. Anyone seen with canisters or cylinders will be ejected from site. Please help up with this, plan ahead and have a great camping experience.


Please check out the guides provided by the NHS and the Gas Safety Register


The caravan and campervan ticket holders in white campervan field only will be permitted to bring in gas containers up to the limit of 6kg.


NOT ALLOWED:


-gas canisters (any size)

-nitrous oxide

-petrol burner

-any form of aerosol over 250ml


ALLOWED


-solid fuel stoves

-disposable barbecues

-firelighters / firelighter stoves

-methylated / “trangia” spirit stoves

Look after yourself. Don’t overdo it, and most importantly, look out for others.


There is no official meeting point, so when you get to the festival agree with your group on a location and two set times during the day to meet up at any/all of them and/or in the event that you get split up during the weekend.


The site is a farm with livestock year round, so make sure you use the water points around the site to wash your hands regularly, especially before you eat.


The festival takes place on uneven farmland with stone tracks and metal track ways. Take care, especially at night. Strong shoes for walking are a good idea – as is a torch after dark.


Please don’t drop cigarette butts or bottle tops as the site is normally home to cattle.


Give any passing security or emergency vehicles plenty of space to pass and don’t jump or ride on vehicles.


Prolonged exposure to high volume noise can cause severe hearing damage.


Serious sunstroke, sunburn or cancer can be caused by the sun on unprotected skin.


We have a Challenge 25 policy on site and our bar staff will always ask for a proof of age ID whenever a customer appears to be under 25 – so if you think there is a chance you may be asked, best bring some photo ID. It is down to you to prove that you are over 18. If you are lucky enough to look young, try out our Over 18’s wristband which can then be used at the Bar.


Anti-social and illegal behaviour will not be tolerated: eviction, and arrest without return will be the outcome.

Play it safe and always use a condom. The First Aid Post has a stock of condoms and you can get emergency ‘morning after’ contraception there, but using condoms is more affordable, better for your health, and offers protection against disease as well as pregnancy. If you are on the pill, remember to bring them with you.