FAMILIES have been left furious after claiming a Christmas lights switch-on event was ruined by overcrowding and fighting.
Thousands were in attendance for the annual event to mark the beginning of the festive period in Colchester, Essex, on Wednesday.
Twitter/VisitColchesterSpectators said the event was “dangerously overcrowded”[/caption]
Twitter/VisitColchesterVisitors have slammed the organisers of the event[/caption]
The celebration contained music and live performances, before a party took place inside the Lion Walk Shopping Centre.
But locals have slammed organisers after the town centre became “dangerously” packed before scuffles broke out, EssexLive reports.
Writing on Facebook, one visitor said: “Was so dangerous! Had there of been an emergency nobody would have been able to move!
“My little boy had a complete meltdown and had to leave.. wouldn’t go again!”
Sharing the concern, a second added: “Think where the stage was made the crowd bottleneck to an absolute standstill, like sardines, maybe that stage should be in the Culver Square next time two ways in and out and more space.”
Others described the event as “very unsafe” and slammed organisers for failing to place the stage outside.
There was also disappointment over a decision to cancel a planned fireworks display.
Colchester councillor Natalie Summers, portfolio holder for communities, said: “We understand the concerns that have been raised about the location of the stage at Lion Walk.
“Along with our partners, we are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, and we will be taking these concerns into account when planning future events.”
She described the switch-on as the town’s “busiest ever”, but added that it had been a “huge boost”.
Cllr Sommers continued: ““We also understand the concerns that have been raised about the location of the stage at Lion Walk.
“Along with our partners, we are committed to providing a safe and enjoyable experience for everyone, and we will be taking these concerns into account when planning future events.
“Overall, we believe that the Lion Walk event was a resounding success. It was the busiest Christmas event ever held and a great boost for the city centre and local businesses.
“We would like to thank everyone who came along and made the evening such a huge success.”
The shopping centre’s managing director Martin Leatherdale also described the event as a success and insisted “zero” incidents had been recorded.
He said: “I think overall the event was a phenomenal success. Whoever says city centres are dead, last night that couldn’t have been further from the truth.”
“We had zero recorded incidents yesterday. We have been doing this for four years and we have never had an incident.
“Can we stop people from smoking? No we can’t. Can we stop people being rude to each other?
“No, we can’t. I’m not sure what we can do to control that element of it. If something is packed, it’s packed.”
Organisers say they cancelled the firework display due to health and safety concerns.
Winds were “pointing directly at the crowd”, causing a “significant risk of debris falling”.
Facebook/Tom DaviesVisitors say scuffles broke out among the crowd due to the overcrowding[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
