Police have confirmed they are investigating a fake Facebook page that claimed Peel’s crowd-pulling fire festival had been cancelled.

There was a huge turn-out to the Oie Voaldyn festival on Sunday.

This was despite what organisers branded an earlier attempt to sabotage the event.

A Facebook page was created, ostensibly by Oie Voaldyn, which claimed the festival had been cancelled.

It referred to sponsorship of the event by Orsted, the company behind the proposed Mooir Vannin offshore windfarm.

In response, the genuine Oie Voaldyn Facebook page posted: ‘We have been made aware that someone on Facebook posing as Oie Voaldyn has been announcing the event has been cancelled.

‘Any cancellation messages are the unfortunate work of a sabotager [sic].’

Organiser John Shakespeare said the fake social media post could have been ‘really damaging’.

A police spokesperson said: ‘We can confirm this matter is subject to an investigation.

‘As this is a live investigation, we are not in a position to provide further detail at this time.’

Peel was packed as the drama of Oie Voaldyn fire festival, a reinterpretation of the traditional Manx May Eve custom, was played out on the beach.

A highlight was the visit by Vikings from Shetland’s Jarl Squad who led a torchlit procession down Peel Hill onto the beach.

With flames and sparks lighting up the night sky, the event culminated in a battle between the champions of summer and winter for control of the seasons.

The festival was first staged as part of the Year of our Island celebrations in 2018.

It has grown to become a highlight of the island’s events calendar.

Mr Shakespeare confirmed that numbers who attended were up on last year.

He said any plans to make next year’s festival even bigger and better would depend on future financial and community support.