GAZETTE & HERALD: The organiser of the 10th anniversary Eddie Cochran Festival John Knight has announced he was declared bankrupt last Thursday, with debts of about £91,000.

Mr Knight, head of the Eddie Cochran Appreciation Society (ECAS) 10th Anniversary Festival, said the money was owed to creditors who took part in the festival last year, which starred veteran rock 'n'roll icon Little Richard.

"The loss would have been much higher had it not been for loans from private sources of £80,000," he said.

"As festival organiser I am still very proud to have been involved in such a unique event but am distressed at the financial loss incurred by every company involved. The festival organisers have also incurred a substantial financial loss."

An estimated 6,000 people attended the event in Monkton Park in September. The popular celebration was hailed as a huge success except that ticket sales failed to cover the huge costs of staging the event.

Mr Knight said they needed to sell 6,000 tickets every night to break even and they sold only around that many over the whole weekend.

"Last year's festival was the best ever, in artistic and production terms unfortunately not enough people turned up," he said.