Those attending Saturday’s Burnham-On-Sea Food & Drink Festival may have noticed a higher than normal security presence following the terrorism attack in Manchester last week.
Extra steps were taken to boost security at the tenth festival, including security guards, two layers for road closures plus extra security signs and guidance for traders.
Co-organiser Bev Milner Simonds told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “After the tragic events in Manchester we re-evaluated our risks and took some extra steps to provide reassurance and security at the festival.”
“We wanted to maintain our relaxed, cheerful feel. In order that our volunteer stewards could remain focused on making the festival vibe, we hired SIA patrol guards. Their role was to be a visible reassurance to the public, scan for risks, manage any lost/found bags or arising risks. The volunteer stewards were re-rostered to be more mobile and move to busier areas when needed.”
“We reminded our 130 traders that they were our eyes and ears on the ground and to flag any concerns immediately to our stewards.”
Co-organiser sarah Milner Simonds added: “We also worked with the Carnival Committee to alter our road closure points so that we had double rows of road closure barriers (as pictured below). The team from the Carnival were on hand all day to ensure that they were maintained throughout the day.”
“We also produced some ‘seen it? report it’ posters that were put up around the festival. These were low key, but consistent with police advice on managing risk responsibly and to encourage our visitors to be vigilant too.”
“The current advice is that people are to go about their ordinary lives, but at the same time to be on alert and to report any suspicious incidents. We have tried to mirror this in our event.”
She added that feedback received from traders, volunteers and visitors was that they appreciated the steps taken and felt safe and welcome.
Bev added: “We would like to publicly thank Sedgemoor District Council for their swift assistance in making some of these changes possible – it really was appreciated.”
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