Police have confirmed that two WOMAD festival-goers died at the weekend.

Neither incident, involving a man in his 50s who was taken to hospital and died from natural causes and a woman who died on the festival site, are thought to have had suspicious causes and police are not investigating the deaths.

The man, who is thought to be from Hertfordshire, collapsed on site on Friday morning and was taken to the Great Western Hospital, Swindon, by the Red Cross, according to the Great Western Ambulance Service.

The woman who died at Charlton Park, Malmesbury, is believed to have been in her 50s and was from London.

GWAS were called at 9.44am on Saturday after she collapsed and she was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation by ambulance crews after suffering a heart attack.
 

Festival director Chris Smith said: “It is incredibly sad. Our thoughts are very much with the families.


“It’s a personal tragedy and we did everything we could to support the families.
 

“It’s a difficult situation for everyone but none more so that the families of those who have died.
 

“It’s very, very sad and it’s very difficult for the people who have to deal with it from the Red Cross.”

Superintendent Gavin Williams, from Wiltshire Police, confirmed that WOMAD had not suffered much crime with ten, mostly drug-related, arrests made over the weekend.

He said: “We worked very well with the security staff and we adopted a really proactive stance on people bringing in drugs, particularly those attempting to sell them.”

Police used a ‘passive drugs dog’ and various officers who were working on a zero drugs tolerance policy on people bringing illegal substances on to the festival site, which was a move supported by security staff, police have said.