AN eyewitness has described the crowd collapse at one of the main stages at the Boardmasters Festival at Watergate Bay on Friday night.

Festivalgoer Tom Davy stated a large section of the crowd at the Point Stage where DJ Sammy Virji was due to play toppled over “like dominoes” twice. People in the crowd also said the stage was too small for the act.

Boardmasters organisers cancelled the show following the incident as a safety precaution.

Police said a “small number” of attendees were injured and were treated on-site by medical staff, with a small number were taken to hospital to be checked over for minor injuries.

Tom said: “The crowd collapse happened twice.

“I could see the stage was getting overcrowded and then there was a surge from the back. People started toppling over like dominoes. It was like a Mexican wave ripple effect over a large part of the crowd.

“They all got up and composed themselves. Then two minutes later it happened again.

“I saw people sprained ankles. I’ve been working at festivals for 30 years and I’ve never seen anything like it.

“I don’t know if it was a normal crowd collapse or not, but I was shocked. I think it was too small a stage for the act.”

Sharon Lovatt added: “My two sons and daughter in law were in the crowd and got taken down.

“They are big strapping men and said it was like a domino effect. My son said he was helping young girls up that were being trampled on and had their sunglasses imprinted on their faces and bleeding.

“They left the festival and were home by 10.30pm. Security we’re dealing with people squashed into the front barriers. They said it was dangerous.”

A Boardmasters spokesperson said: "We can confirm that Sammy Virji's set was cancelled and that The Point stage was closed to allow onsite teams to respond to an incident in the audience.

"No serious injuries have been reported and the pit and medical teams immediately assisted those involved.

"Safety is our number one priority and we thank Sammy and our audience for their understanding.”

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police, added: “We were notified following a crowd collapse at Boardmasters music festival, which left a small number of attendees injured.”The injured parties were treated on-site by medical staff and a small number were taken to hospital to be checked over for minor injuries.

“Contrary to speculation, we can confirm that there have been no deaths as a result of this incident.”

DJ Sammy Virji said he was "gutted" about his set being cancelled but "safety should always come first".

In an Instagram post he said: "I'm incredibly gutted about the stage cancellation for Boardmasters, whilst I'm absolutely honoured at the amount of people who turned up, crowd surges can be very serious and safety should always come first.

"The stoppage was completely out of my hands and hope you all understand the festival needed to prioritise everyone's wellbeing. Hopefully catch you all soon at another set."