Revellers at Rewind Festival at Capesthorne Hall said staff were taking food off families forcing them to buy items from expensive vendors.
Families at a retro music festival have complained of ‘ridiculous’ prices after being charged £6 for a 99 icecream.
Rewind Festival took place at Capesthorne Hall in Siddington last week, offering a host of top pop names from the 80s and other entertainment from the era.
Organisers billed it as a family-friendly event which offered entertainment for families and children to enjoy, with 20,000 going through the doors over the weekend.
But after spending £107 for an adult’s weekend ticket and £54 for children, revellers claim they were overcharged for food and drink once inside the arena.
This was made worse because festival-goers were not allowed to take their own food and drink into the event with reports of security staff taking food off families and throwing it into skips.
Andrena Blackaby, who attended the festival with her family of five, said her family enjoyed the day but food and drink was overpriced.
She said: “I would just like the organisers to make their pricing for food and drink a bit fairer.
“For instance £6 for one plain 99 ice cream, £8.50 for a single gin and tonic, not even a good brand, £6 for one small wrap, £3.50 for a bottle of water and £4.50 for a small bottle of beer, not even a pint. Oh and £5 each for one go on the dodgems.
“You are not allowed to bring even an apple in as they confiscate the lot, so you have no option but to buy it and remember that is after paying over £300 for the tickets.
“If you are going to ban food and drink you have to make it more affordable and really that was ridiculous. I saw a family have a box of strawberries taken off them, which then got thrown in the skip. It had so much food in it already.
Other revellers agreed with her complaint on the Express Facebook page, with one saying she paid £22 for a bottle of wine.
The organisers of the festival, Impressario Festivals PLC, have refused to comment.
Rick Astley, Adam Ant, UB40 and Marc Almond were among the top names at the three-day festival.
Originally launched at Henley-on- Thames in 2009, Rewind has become the biggest 80s festival in the world and has expanded to Rewind Scotland, Rewind North, as well as South Africa, Dubai and Bangkok.