HUNDREDS of revellers were stranded after paying £90 for VIP tickets to a dance festival.

The tickets entitled visitors to Saturday’s We Are Festival to free bus travel to stations. But hundreds tried to get on buses which could only carry 60 and with only one arriving every 40 minutes.

Organisers were also slammed on Facebook and Twitter for alleged safety breaches, which reportedly saw people crushed among crowds, and an allegedly inadequate number of marshalls to ensure safety at the event at Damyn’s Hall Aerodrome, in Upminster.

A woman from Colchester left the festival at 11.30pm and didn’t reach a friend’s home in Basildon until after 3am.

The 32-year-old said: “There were five men and five women in our group. It was like nothing we have ever experienced before. It was expensive, but we were stranded for three-and-a-half hours. People were injured and the organsiers were in breach of health and safety rules.

“Loads of people have complained on Facebook and Twitter, but the organisers haven’t apologised.

Our tickets included a free shuttle bus to places like Upminster, Romford and London.

We left at 11.30pm to find there was only one bus every 40 minutes.

It was bedlam.

“Hundreds of people were pushing and shoving to get on the buses. There were about 500 people trying to get on one.

“One man broke his foot.

People were trying to get on the vehcilesfrom the side and the back and were being chucked off.

“Girls were crying because they didn’t know how they were going to get home.

“We had to walk for an hourand- half along a pitch black country road in the middle of nowhere.

I found it terrifying.’’ The group has also complained about dirty toilets and long queues to get drinks despite buying prepaid tokens.

Tickets are already being advertised for next year’s event but the woman added: “I will never go to this festival again.

“There seemed to be enough buses to get people to the festival from stations, but once people were there the organsier s didn’t seem to care about getting anyone home.

“How no one was killed I don’t know.”

A FESTIVAL spokesman said: “A traffic plan worked well up until around 10.45pm when a lack of taxis to facilitate getting people away meant some customers decided to go against the stewards’ and marshalls’ advice and began walking on the road.

“This caused a safety issue and traffic to backlog, which meant shuttle buses could not get back on to the site.

“When a number of stages finished at 11pm, a large number of people left the festival and joined those already waiting to get off site at the bus park.

“With no buses servicing the shuttle, people became impatient and began to ignore the queue system and went into the bus park and walked along the road, meaning further delays to traffic coming on to the site.

“The event site finally cleared at 2.15am after doors closed at 12.30am.

“We are extremely disappointed by the issues of Saturday night which meant customers had a very frustrating end to what had been a very good day overall and apologise to those frustrated by the traffic issues.

“We amend and improve our transport plans every year and this year will be no different.

“All feedback is always greatly appreciated from all festival goers and we continue to invite further feedback to info@weare fstvl.com”