36 replies to this topic

[Sooperstar]

doyleo, on Aug 25 2009, 07:40 PM, said:

Just a bump and a quick update.

The incident happened on FRIDAY at the entrance to Gold campsite from the South car parks, just near the search tent at around 6ish?

Paul ™, on Aug 31 2009, 09:12 PM, said:

Doyleo, did that happen at Gold Campsite search area?

[doyleo]

Paul ™, on Aug 31 2009, 09:12 PM, said:

G4S hold the contract

Subcontractors were

Specialized Security
Diamond Security
MAN Guarding
BBP Security

probably a couple others too


Doyleo, did that happen at Gold Campsite search area?

I was working in that area and though I didn't see the incident, I got informed about it. I worked for Specialized Security and if it was the incident then the bloke was from G4S.

Possibly can get witnesses if I did a bit of digging on the other staff we had there who seen it.

Hope you get it sorted..

OMG! I had given up hope!! Yes, it did happen in the Gold Campsite search area! Any help would be very very much appreciated!

I think the guard did work for G4S, my parents were given a G4S business card anyway.

Just an update, Dad is having the operation today (stupid hospital keep delaying us) the police came to talk to my Dad about it yesterday and we have seen various other legal people to get the wheels in motion!

Edited by doyleo, 02 September 2009 - 10:00 AM.

[cabstar]

See a lawyer who will sue V Festival, as G4S are an agent of V Festival, V festival will be covered by their insurance for this, they need to have public liability insurance minimum for this kind of event.

The police statement in itself will be enough evidence for a civil action against V Festival.

Unfortunately legal action like this is the only way to ensure disgusting incidents like this never happen again.

[doyleo]

We are in the process of taking legal action. The wheels are in motion!

[FluffyBeanie]

I hope your Dad is on the mend and that the police have taken you seriously.  Keep posting updates please - I am interested to hear how this all turns out.  If you need advice on dealing with the police and what to expect from them, PM me.

[doyleo]

Dad is on the mend, a little annoyed because he can't do anything or drive anywhere! In his words, going stir crazy!

Staffordshire Police and Manchester Police are both on the case I will keep updating this post when I get any news! But, it seems like everything is going for us, instead of against.

[swonkyswonky]

im sorry to hear what has happened! i worked security at v fest. but i do have a few words to say...

i am at univeristy doing a health course, and i do this job for a few extra pennies. I am not a mindless thick thug who craves power, i am simply there to make money and i am not thick, quite bright actually and i can distingush right from wrong. please do not expect all security to be thugs, some of us are simply just doing our job, and i no i dont only speak for myself when i say this but if the punters did what they where asked my the managers of v festival, incidents would not occur so often. what i am saying is that both the punters and security can be BOTH to blame for many issues.....not that i agree with this one!

back to the issue in hand, my secuity company (who will remain anon) would take this complaint very seriousy, and i have known sia security staff to be thrown off site for less. The company i work for was praised at V for impeckable work and professionalism! so please do not sweep us all with the same brush!

again i am sorry to hear about the incident, there are plenty of cameras around the whole v fest site, so im sure if your story of the incident is true the member of staff will be identifiable! and will be dealt with accordingly! As well as all your witnesses you will have no bother with legal procedures! Although it would be interesting to hear both parties versions of events!

Again i hope your not put off going to festivals, i enjoy them both as a punter and sia member of staff, and i have had a few good kickings from punters at festivals who are both high and drunk, so i can sympathise!

pass my wishes onto your family and i hope your dad makes a full recovery!

[d235]

swonkyswonky, on Sep 13 2009, 10:18 PM, said:

im sorry to hear what has happened! i worked security at v fest. but i do have a few words to say...

i am at univeristy doing a health course, and i do this job for a few extra pennies. I am not a mindless thick thug who craves power, i am simply there to make money and i am not thick, quite bright actually and i can distingush right from wrong. please do not expect all security to be thugs, some of us are simply just doing our job, and i no i dont only speak for myself when i say this but if the punters did what they where asked my the managers of v festival, incidents would not occur so often. what i am saying is that both the punters and security can be BOTH to blame for many issues.....not that i agree with this one!

back to the issue in hand, my secuity company (who will remain anon) would take this complaint very seriousy, and i have known sia security staff to be thrown off site for less. The company i work for was praised at V for impeckable work and professionalism! so please do not sweep us all with the same brush!

again i am sorry to hear about the incident, there are plenty of cameras around the whole v fest site, so im sure if your story of the incident is true the member of staff will be identifiable! and will be dealt with accordingly! As well as all your witnesses you will have no bother with legal procedures! Although it would be interesting to hear both parties versions of events!

Again i hope your not put off going to festivals, i enjoy them both as a punter and sia member of staff, and i have had a few good kickings from punters at festivals who are both high and drunk, so i can sympathise!

pass my wishes onto your family and i hope your dad makes a full recovery!

I too would like to extend my best wishes to your family and I hope your dad does make a full recovery.

I would also like to reiterate the points made by the person above.
I too work within the security/crowd management sector of the event industry and agree whole heartedly with "swonkyswonky" they are very right in saying that the event staff are not made up of thugs, yobs and hooligans and on a whole most members of staff are respectable members of society who work at festivals because they enjoy the lifestyle and relish the work. There are however bad eggs within the industry just like there are in general society as a whole but please don't tar every person with the same brush. Please remember the security staff have to deal with everything from drunk kids, suicidal teenagers, violent hooligans and mindless thieves. Their job can be very hard and very stressful as they have no more legal powers than you or I but yet they get out of bed put  on their combats and don't moan when they are asked to do a 15 hour shift. In this particular festival, the security staff would have had to deal with fence jumpers (people trying to get in for free, usually to steel from you) thieves, muggers, drug dealers, drunks and many mindless members of society who think a festival is "easy pickings" for their anti-social ways.
Whilst I am not going to comment directly on the plea for witnesses or this issue directly. I must ask you all to give security a chance. They are there to protect YOU. No one else. If they ask you not do do something it is usually because they have been told to do so by the event organisers and the reasons are usually for your own safety. So, if someone asks you not to do this or that, don't argue just do what they request. It really is for your own good.
As for this case, no I am not going to comment on it but again to reiterate what "swonkyswonky" did say; there are two sides to every storey and an event and festival forum is not the place to try to come up with what could have happened or try the person before he/she has had a chance to speak for themselves in a court of law.
If there are any witnesses please PM the OP.

[bekimo]

One of the men who works for me is also in the TA.  I saw him at a meeting on 27th August.  I said to him, as you do, "do you have any plans this weekend?"  He said as part of his TA duties thingy he was doing security at Leeds Festival!!  Made me giggle.  We get a bunch of students and thugs (no offence guys) and Leeds gets the Army!!! Hahahahaha!

Edited by bekimo, 14 September 2009 - 02:57 PM.

[Flaminglippy]

bekimo, on Sep 14 2009, 03:57 PM, said:

One of the men who works for me is also in the TA.  I saw him at a meeting on 27th August.  I said to him, as you do, "do you have any plans this weekend?"  He said as part of his TA duties thingy he was doing security at Leeds Festival!!  Made me giggle.  We get a bunch of students and thugs (no offence guys) and Leeds gets the Army!!! Hahahahaha!

My mates in the TA and they get to do all kinds of stuff...They went skiing for two weeks...like thats ever gonna help them defend our country...(well, maybe if the Swiss invade us...although thinking about it that would only work if they decided to invade and bring their own weather and terrain...)

[d235]

bekimo, on Sep 14 2009, 03:57 PM, said:

One of the men who works for me is also in the TA.  I saw him at a meeting on 27th August.  I said to him, as you do, "do you have any plans this weekend?"  He said as part of his TA duties thingy he was doing security at Leeds Festival!!  Made me giggle.  We get a bunch of students and thugs (no offence guys) and Leeds gets the Army!!! Hahahahaha!

Offence taken.  

[bekimo]

Flaminglippy, on Sep 14 2009, 04:27 PM, said:

My mates in the TA and they get to do all kinds of stuff...They went skiing for two weeks...like thats ever gonna help them defend our country...(well, maybe if the Swiss invade us...although thinking about it that would only work if they decided to invade and bring their own weather and terrain...)

Skiing and going to festivals..... that should so be on the adverts.  They would get loads of recruits!

d235, on Sep 15 2009, 12:50 PM, said:

Offence taken.  

Easily offended.  

[doyleo]

In reply to all the people from the Security side of things. I am not judging you all the same way, but my dealings with the Security this year were not pleasant and after such a thing happening, I would find it very hard to trust Security the same way as I once did. Even asking a guard for directions got the reply "I don't f**king know" whilst he sits on his tower with a map round his neck.

Things are being dealt with the way they should be. And I doubt the people that did this will ever work on Security again.

I feel that on a whole V Fest was a poorly organised event, I saw two Police men all weekend, most of the staff were rude and unprofessional, everything was highly overpriced and everywhere was over crowded. V Fest is for "the man" and it would have to be an astronomical line up for me to consider parting with my money next year.

As far as I am concerned this post has served a purpose, and can be deleted.

[swonkyswonky]

doyleo, on Sep 17 2009, 08:47 PM, said:

In reply to all the people from the Security side of things. I am not judging you all the same way, but my dealings with the Security this year were not pleasant and after such a thing happening, I would find it very hard to trust Security the same way as I once did. Even asking a guard for directions got the reply "I don't f**king know" whilst he sits on his tower with a map round his neck.

Things are being dealt with the way they should be. And I doubt the people that did this will ever work on Security again.

I feel that on a whole V Fest was a poorly organised event, I saw two Police men all weekend, most of the staff were rude and unprofessional, everything was highly overpriced and everywhere was over crowded. V Fest is for "the man" and it would have to be an astronomical line up for me to consider parting with my money next year.

As far as I am concerned this post has served a purpose, and can be deleted.

im sorry to hear that, but the majority of people i have spoken too found our security helpful and professional. And as for the security guard never working again he probably will continue working, which is a shame because its people like that that give us a bad name!

[bekimo]

swonkyswonky, on Sep 18 2009, 01:24 PM, said:

And as for the security guard never working again he probably will continue working, which is a shame because its people like that that give us a bad name!

So true!

[d235]

bekimo, on Sep 18 2009, 02:58 PM, said:

So true!

I think your right if it is proved that he was in the wrong.

[d235]

doyleo, on Sep 17 2009, 08:47 PM, said:

In reply to all the people from the Security side of things. I am not judging you all the same way, but my dealings with the Security this year were not pleasant and after such a thing happening, I would find it very hard to trust Security the same way as I once did. Even asking a guard for directions got the reply "I don't f**king know" whilst he sits on his tower with a map round his neck.

Things are being dealt with the way they should be. And I doubt the people that did this will ever work on Security again.

I feel that on a whole V Fest was a poorly organised event, I saw two Police men all weekend, most of the staff were rude and unprofessional, everything was highly overpriced and everywhere was over crowded. V Fest is for "the man" and it would have to be an astronomical line up for me to consider parting with my money next year.

As far as I am concerned this post has served a purpose, and can be deleted.

Doyleo possibly the reason you experienced such animosity was down to your attitude. You have come on here quite rightly appealing for witnesses for an incident that happened to your father. But, have tarred most of the professional security teams with the same brush. Have you thought the reason why you were treated in such a way was down to you? It seems funny that most people had a great time and were pleased with most of the organisation and crowd/security management. Surely they can not all be wrong? So, it begs me to ask the question what did you do to annoy from what I saw a very professional team of people?
After speaking with your Dad, I am happy that he didn't let the incident spoil his weekend too much and I hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.