Serious concerns over public safety and organisers’ unwillingness to address the issue led to Castletown Festival’s evening programme being disrupted, said police.

Organisers pulled the plug on Saturday’s evening music at the last minute, having reached an impasse in negotiations with police and saying the festival committee could be prosecuted if it went ahead.

After hasty rescheduling, a reformed programme was made and musical entertainment was in the afternoon.

But police say the disruption could have been avoided had the festival committee responded to their concerns - raised over several years - over public safety.

In a statement police said: ’The Constabulary has long been disappointed that the festival committee do not accept that crime, disorder and drunkenness often accompany the event in Castletown, or that the organisers have a part to play in preventing and reducing such problems. This is the crux of the issue.

’There are risks in running an event, but those risks can be mitigated with careful planning and co-operation with various public service agencies.’

The festival is the most heavily policed event outside the TT, with implications on the resources available in the rest of the island.

The Constabulary said it had ’repeatedly raised concerns’ about the running of the festival for more than a decade, adding: ’In the evening the musical element of the programme attracts a mix of families, people interested only in drinking and teenagers who travel to the event from across the island, many of whom become intoxicated, sometimes dangerously so.

’The abuse of alcohol is the main problem and all event organisers have a responsibility to run safe events.’

All event organisers are asked to comply with an Event Safety Guide.

In recent years, police have made arrests at the festival for assault, drunkenness, criminal damage, and breaches of the Public Order Act. On one occasion a constable suffered grievous bodily harm.

The biggest concern has been the growth in the abuse of alcohol by teenagers at the festival. Some have required hospital treatment as a result of their excessive drinking.

’The festival committee has been reluctant to accept its responsibilities as an event organiser, placing the onus for managing behaviour at the event on the police,’ said a Constabulary spokesman.

’This is not how events should be run. The police are there to support event organisers, not to do their job for them.’

The issue of the evening event requiring a music licence has been ongoing for some time. Police say a licence is required.

The festival committee argues it is exempt.

They say it operates under a charter as a philanthropic voluntary organisation, and has been such a body since it was set up on the initiative of the town’s commissioners in 1956.

Due to its philanthropic status it has been exempt under section 20 of the Music and Dancing Act 1961 and has therefore not required a music and dancing licence for its events.

The Attorney General’s office agreed, it said. The festival argued nothing has changed since 2014.

But the police said it had received new legal advice from the HM Attorney General’s Chambers, which clearly indicated that the Castletown Festival committee could no longer rely on the philanthropy clause.

The Constabulary said it had advised the committee well in advance of the Festival that it should seek a licence for the evening part of the programme.

A spokesman said: ’The committee refused to accept the advice and chose not to apply for a licence. Meetings were held in the weeks leading up to the Festival in an attempt to find a way forward, but the committee refused to change its approach.

’It was made clear that, if the event went ahead without a licence, members of the committee would run the risk of being reported to HM Attorney General for consideration of prosecution.’