FESTIVAL organisers last night (Monday, Sept 15) said they intend to repay traders who claim they have been left high and dry and owed thousands of pounds.

Stallholders have not been paid for the four day Galtres Parklands Festival held at Duncombe Park, near Helmsley, North Yorkshire, when more than 8,000 concert goers were entertained by headline acts including The Stranglers, Human League and The Undertones.

Now, three weeks after the event, traders who ran food, drink and craft stalls, it has emerged that one of the organising companies Galtres Festival Trading Company has ceased trading and does not currently have sufficient money to meet its liabilities.

Ben Ahmed who was owed £800 from his Fuel Coffee Kart said he now faces going out of business.

“It’s absolutely atrocious," he said.

"We worked 16 hour days for four days and got nothing."

Another drinks company which is owed thousands of pounds but which asked not to be identified, said it is taking legal action to try to recover the money.

Event organiser James Houston, said organisers intend to pay the money owed. He added:”The situation is evolving all the time and we hope to have a resolution soon. It is our firm intention that the traders are all repaid in full at the earliest opportunity. As a board we are convinced that the festival is potentially viable and profitable.”

Traders say a cashless system was operated by the festival company, with concert goers putting funds on a card which was used to buy food, drinks and goods on site, with no money being handed over.

Each trader was given a statement at the end of the festival saying how much they were owed.

But Mr Ahmed said it has not been paid. ”The festival had money, handed over by punters to pay for food and drink. What I do know is that I don’t have it, and nor does anyone else that I’ve spoken to.”

He believes up to 50 businesses could be affected.

The festival was started ten years ago as a family friendly event promoting original live music and dance with local food and drink. But in recent years it has struggled with bad weather and ticket sales.

The Galtres Parklands Festival website states the event is owned by The Galtres Festival Charitable Foundation. A statement on the festival website says that the subsidiary, Galtres Festival Trading Ltd, had ceased trading and letters issued to creditors.

In the statement, Foundation Trustee Jane Johnson pledged to pay all suppliers in full "at the earliest opportunity" and added: ”We’ve decided that the best thing for the future is to start anew, safeguarding revenues and focusing on improving the business model. We believe that the event potentially has a highly profitable future, provided a check is kept on costs, and sales continue to grow.”

It also reveals plans are being made for another festival next year.