Chaos at Isle of Wight: Bad Weather Rains on Music Festival

The second day of the three day Isle of Wight music festival turned into an organisational nightmare after heavy rain and mud slides wreaked havoc. The event, which is being headlined by the likes of Pearl Jam, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band, attracted more than 50,000 people.

A report in The Guardian states "revellers were left stuck on ferries floating in the Solent and police were forced to escort 300 motorists to a nearby football club where shelter and refreshments were provided after more than 10 hours queuing in their vehicles".

Meanwhile, a report in the Daily Mail confirmed the organisers would refund unused tickets; some people paid as much as £190 for a three-day camping ticket. Incidentally, there was some confusion over that too, as organisers initially said it was possible to reach the site and did not offer refunds.

"There are lots of rumours circulating about ticket refunds and we just wanted to clarify.

'The situation has now been resolved and it is possible for everyone to access the site and enjoy the festival," a message on their Twitter account read.

 "It looks like a battlefield. There is so much mud, suspicious-smelling mud at that, full of abandoned shoes, jumpers, tents - it is utter carnage," 27 year old Ellie Hawks, who came to attend the festival, was quoted as saying in another report by the Guardian.

It appears organisers failed to take appropriate action despite being warned by the MET office about heavy rain and bad weather, leading to criticism from Facebook and other social networking sites:

"Worst experience ever!! Bought me and my sister weekend camping tickets as a treat. 13hrs of queueing, seeing people come back from the site as mud man was the final straw," Sonia Waters, the Guardian reported, posted on Facebook.

According to the BBC, organisers were forced to open extra fields and bring in metal tracks so vehicles could be directed to overflow car parks. Many had to be towed because of the mud.

 "We did everything within our power but as soon as that 24 hour rain came down it became horrendous. I'm really very sorry, I can only apologise, I know there's a couple of hundred still out there. It's going to be a great weekend, don't give up on us," festival organiser John Giddings said.