Thefts and arrests mar opening day of T in the Park

Published on Friday 10 July 2009 22:21

THE first day of the T in the Park festival was marred by police reports last night of 18 arrests, more than 40 thefts and 20 drugs offences.

Officers had earlier reported an "excellent start" to the event after increasing their presence following a stabbing at last year's festival.

By 10pm last night, 55,000 people had walked through the gates of the arena, near Balado in Kinross-shire.

But Tayside Police later revealed there were 18 arrests for minor offences, with reports of 43 thefts, two petty assaults and 20 drugs-related offences.

And Neil McDonald, the event's ambulance commander, said 305 people had been seen by first-aiders and 161 presented to the on-site hospital, with six being sent off-site for treatment to minor injuries.

Some 85,000 people are expected to attend the festival, and the weather is expected to remain bright and warm for the most part.

Chief Superintendent Craig Suttie, the event commander, said last night: "The event has got off to an excellent start, and we're very pleased with things so far. The crowd is up for a great time, and there is good engagement between police officers and the audience."

Drug amnesty bins will be placed at the entrance to the campsites, where people can dispose of any illegal substances without being excluded from the event or prosecuted. Plainclothes officers and sniffer dogs will also be present at the festival.

Despite travel chaos in previous years, there were no major delays on the roads yesterday, with about 20,000 festival-goers having arrived to set up camp on Thursday.

Colin Rodger, T in the Park's event manager, said: "We are very pleased with the way this year's event is going so far. The predicted rain has failed to fall, and the sunshine, combined with the new community policing system, has helped to generate a fantastic atmosphere."

Conditions are forecast to stay dry overnight with sunshine today. Rain is forecast for Sunday morning, but it is expected to clear by the afternoon.

Meanwhile, health officials have warned that festival-goers will be asked to leave the site and arrangements made for them to travel home if medical teams diagnose them with swine flu.

T IN THE PARK - LIVE!

Writers from The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and scotsman.com will be out and about at T in the Park, and you can follow all our updates on our live blog throughout the weekend.