THOUSANDS of music fans soaked up the sunshine at this year’s Upton Blues Festival.

Organisers said a record number of campers and visitors attended the event, which took place from Friday to Sunday.

However, it was not an entirely trouble-free weekend as three people fell in the river on Saturday.

A thief also stole a charity bucket from The Plough Inn on Saturday night and there were reports of drivers ignoring parking restrictions.

Grahame Bunn, chair of Upton Blues Festival, described the theft of the charity collection as ‘disgusting behaviour’.

He said: “I know the bucket has been found. Someone is going to pick it up and we will log an official report on it."

He added that people were also driving over cones that had been set up in Minge Lane to stop revellers from using residential parking.

Mr Bunn said: "People on the first day were ignoring the barrier. [The attitude] was 'no one has a right to tell me I have to have a permit to go to my own house'."

The organiser claims one man almost drove over a steward's foot.

He added that about three people fell into the river on Saturday night, although they were all okay.

Mr Bunn said: “We also had people swimming in the river on Sunday morning, we told them they are not allowed to."

Despite the issues, he insisted that the event had been fantastic fun and provided a boost to the town's economy.