The V2002 concert in Chelmsford was today hailed a success.

An estimated 60,000 people a day attended on Saturday and Sunday in Hylands Park.

As temperatures soared, about 800 concert-goers received treatment from St John Ambulance, most for dehydration.

Five cases resulted in people being taken to Broomfield Hospital by ambulance.

Police made 22 arrests at the two-day music marathon.

While the sheer numbers of vehicles trying to get on and off the site made road chaos inevitable, traffic police said the problems were swiftly dealt with.

The biggest threat to the smooth running of the festival was a fire which started in a temporary block of eight toilets near Stage Four, where the Strongbow Mariners were playing at 9.45pm on Saturday night.

No-one was near enough to the blaze for it to pose a threat and firefighters put out the flames within 20 minutes.

Chief Insp Jed Stropher, officer in charge of policing the festival, said: "We would like to praise the vast majority of music fans, who behaved in a responsible manner and co-operated with organisers and emergency services."

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Published Monday August 19, 2002

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