SOME traders at the Hereford Food Festival have said the event was "a shambles" with a low turnout of visitors and are asking organisers for their money back.

Vendors at the festival, held at Hereford Racecourse, said they were left out of pocket after the profits they made failed to cover the costs of their pitches.

It was organised by Big Bull Events, a company owned by Martin Corns and David Bennett. 

Food businesses from across Herefordshire and the rest of the UK were there, including Mr Gyro, Viking Fries, Champion and Reeves, Mama's Artisan Fudge, the Chock Shop, Patty Princess and the Beefy Boys. 

One of the claims made by the traders was that footfall was much lower than they had been promised by organisers.

Charlotte Bordewey was at the event running a craft stall, Melon and Co. She said: "We were told all sorts. We were assured footfall would be around 10,000 people throughout. We were told thousands of tickets had been sold already."

Ms Bordewey said that she made only seven sales over the weekend, taking £63 compared with the £100 price she paid for her pitch.

Dazzles Face Painting also feel they were promised a larger crowd than what was there. On Sunday, the owner, Amy Tasker-Andrews, used a loudspeaker to express her outrage and frustration to crowds at the festival.

She said: "It was truly heart breaking seeing what devastation has been caused for us. We are emotionally sore from the events of the weekend.

"We were approached back in May to be at this event. We turned down six private party bookings to be at this event, meaning we lost massive income.

"On the weekend we made £150, which wasn't enough to cover our fees of £400 let alone pay the staff we roped in, nor cover any expenses we incurred on the run-up to this event."

Champion and Reeves, a business selling burgers at the festival, said they lost £600 in profits over the weekend after selling only 13 burgers. 

Martin Corns, director of Big Bull Events, said: "It wasn't dead. Previous events sold around 8,000 tickets and we weren't far off that.

"People just didn't want to eat in the hot, glorious weather we had. I don't blame them. If it was me, I would've taken my children down to the beach instead. The people who did come were just lying on the grass enjoying the sun. But I don't use that as an excuse.

"We put it on, we had a lot of fun, a lot of stress and a lot of learning curves."

Another problem that traders said they faced was a power cut overnight when the electricity generator was off, despite organisers saying it would stay on.

It meant fridges lost power in the warm weather, leading to spoiled of food that was wasted.

A spokesperson for Champion and Reeves said: "Vendors paid for electricity and checked with the organisers that it would run overnight. There were no generators running overnight and people had to throw stock away."

Viking Fries, another food vendor at the festival, said they lost about £700 worth of stock spoiled overnight by the power cut or wasted because of a lack of sales.

"We were expecting it to be 10 times busier than it was but it was an absolute travesty and a horrible experience for everyone involved. I don't know how the organisers sleep at night," said a spokesperson for Viking Fries.

Daniel Marin, owner of Mr Gyro, said: "It was the worst experience ever. The business lost money and we are all really disappointed. We are hoping to at least get the pitch money back."

Tristan Salisbury, of the Chock Shop, a local brownie business, shared similar concerns and said: "Never in my eight years of trading have I done such a shambles of an event."

Responding to these allegations, Mr Corn said: "Mistakes were made. We'll rectify it next time."

Some traders also felt "undercut", as a stall run by Big Bull Events sold cheeseburgers for £5, about half the price of many other burger vendors at the event, including the Beefy Boys. There was also an indoor bar run by the organisers, which some drinks vendors felt was competing with business outside.

Champion and Reeves said: "We sold burgers with a drink for £10. We knew the Beefy Boys would be there but there should have been more than enough trade. 

"I have never paid for space at an event to find that I am having to compete with the organisers undercutting the very people they have sold space to."

Oktawia Link, of Patty Princess, said: "It really upset me how we have all been treated."

But the Hereford Times found positive feedback from at least one trader who felt the weekend had been a success.

Karen Rogers, of Mama's Artisan Fudge, said: "I had an amazing weekend. I had nothing but positive feedback from everyone that sampled our fudge. It was well organised in my view. I was kept up to date with emails regarding when I could set up. I have new followers already."

Ms Rogers acknowledged that the event was "quieter than expected" but said that ticket sales could be hard to predict.

Ms Roger's family attended the event to enjoy the live music and said that they enjoyed the entire afternoon and evening.

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Live music acts included Take That and Little Mix tribute bands, and local talent Lucia and the Hey Yahs.

The tickets were priced at £15, but on the Sunday, they were split up to £5 in the daytime and £10 in the evening.

A statement for Big Bull Events said: "The Hereford Food Festival was back last weekend after a three-year break. There were always going to be lessons learned and we took on criticism, however the majority of our feedback was positive.

"We spent a lot of money promoting the festival through schools, giving away hundreds of family tickets as raffle prizes. We had 30 per cent off tickets for NHS and civil servants.

"We would welcome any vendors with issues to speak to us directly. We will do whatever we can to help you."