YFC reaction to last night's Winter Gardens events

Young farmer bosses are keen to arrange a meeting with the police after Saturday night's festivities in Blackpool ended prematurely for some.

Police arrived at the Winter Gardens around midnight and asked for the bars to be closed at 12.30, so members began leaving, well ahead of the 2am planned closing.

YFC chief exec James Eckley expressed surprise at the police's action, saying he could see no problem with how the evening was being run.

"The event was being well managed and we'll be making strong representations to the police," he said.

Members also expressed disappointment. While the Winter Gardens stayed open, with the bars shut, many left immediately for other venues or to return to their hotels.

"We couldn't even buy water and, in our fancy dress costumes, that was no fun," so one Devon member told FW.

Rumours were rife this morning as to what prompted the move, but FW's calls to Lancashire constabulary have gone unanswered.

YFC top brass stress it will be business as usual for the rest of the AGM weekend.

They also pointed out that the headline band, White Van Man, had played their set, so people had already enjoyed the evening's main entertainment.