Bestival seller claims death threats over missing tickets

A teenager who took thousands of pounds for Bestival tickets but failed to deliver has gone into hiding claiming he has received death threats.

It is thought hundreds of people may have paid Ben Hyland-Ward, 18, for tickets to this weekend's festival on the Isle of Wight.

Sussex Police said they had been contacted by 60 ticket-less people and the number has been rising.

Mr Hyland-Ward, from Brighton, said he had been scammed but would refund cash.

It is thought he had offered the tickets at a large discount to the standard price.

A Facebook group set up by people who had not received tickets from Mr Hyland-Ward has attracted 850 members, although it is not clear how many of these are out of pocket.

In a comment on the Facebook page, Mr Hyland-Ward said: "I am working with the police to sort this out.

"In the next few days a way to refund everyone will be worked out and I will private message all of you individually to sort this out.

"I would like to give a huge apology to everyone as well. I am not asking for sympathy but it has been a horrible 24 hours and I have had some full death threats and I am in real danger."

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: "The man has not yet provided the tickets and he himself alerted police when he became concerned about people turning up at the house where he had been lodging to collect them.

"He has now left the city and is staying outside of the county.

"At this time, he has been advised that this needs to be resolved as a civil matter, but police will be formally speaking to him later in the week to see if the tickets have been supplied or money refunded."

Bestival is being held between 10 and 13 September with Duran Duran, The Chemical Brothers and Missy Elliot headlining.

A spokesman for the festival said tickets "must be bought from reputable and trusted sources".

"In light of the recent Brighton ticketing issue, Bestival is waiving the booking fee on a limited number of tickets for sale to anyone who has been affected," he said.

To qualify for the offer, people must apply with a valid police crime number relating to the missing tickets.