A student from County Durham attending the Leeds Festival said she was experiencing the “worst day ever” as her tent has been destroyed and her group have been asked to leave their area because the windy conditions are “really bad”.

Carrie Gill, 19, told the PA news agency that “basically our whole tent is gone” and she has spent £60 on a new tipi tent, which she has not been able to erect yet because of the weather.

The university student based in Durham spoke as a TikTok video was widely shared by @jamesheather0 showing a tent being whipped high into the air. The video has been viewed nearly 40,000 times. 

Carrie said: “All the rain came in because the poles pulled so hard from the wind the fabric ripped open and leaked the whole tent with the rain. We even put those rock-plastic pegs in the bottom and they have snapped.

“We aren’t allowed back into the area for hours, all our stuff is in our mates’ tent, phones on 30%.

"All the stores have blown over, the urinal walls are gone and lads are just pissing against fences, people’s tents are in the sky, the store shops are all over the floor and shirts and things from stores are gone. It’s honestly really bad here.”

She is waiting in a McDonald’s and will be waiting there “for a while it looks like,” adding that “it’s the worst day ever” and if her new tipi “doesn’t last”, she will be forced to return home.

“As you can imagine being a student, it’s quite an expensive festival to be going to and to be let down like this,” she added.

Forecasters are advising revellers at Leeds Festival to secure their tents.

Gusts of up to 80mph are expected, with travel disruption, flooding, power cuts and dangerous conditions near coastal areas all likely.

The forecaster has issued two yellow weather warnings for rain in south-west Scotland and the Aberdeenshire coast from 9pm on Thursday to 9am on Friday.

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There is the possibility of thunder, while 20-30mm of rainfall is expected widely across both areas – with a chance of 40-50mm over higher ground.

Meanwhile, the BBC Radio 1 stage and the Aux stage will not host any performances on Friday, a spokesperson said.

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Reading and Leeds Festival organisers said they could see an "end in sight" to the winds and would open "as soon as possible".