Shrewsbury Folk Festival rocked by 'mindless' theft
Organisers of a Shrewsbury music festival say they have been left disappointed after thieves stole a banner promoting the event.
One of Shrewsbury Folk Festival's banners went missing from railings on Castle Street – less than 48 hours after it had been securely put up by organisers.
The festival committee say they believe the banner has been stolen rather than blown away as it was secured with cable ties.
Festival spokeswoman Jo Cunningham, said she was "disappointed" that the banner has been stolen.
"We really don't want to think that someone has stolen it – after all, why would anyone want a banner about a festival?" she said.
"This was a great opportunity for us to promote a world-class event that brings a massive boost to Shrewsbury and we're really sad that someone may have decided to rip it down and dump it somewhere.
"The festival is such an economic boost for the town, it brings thousands of people here and with tickets going on sale on December 1, we were keen to promote it to local residents and it didn't even stay up two days.
"If someone has done this then all I would say is it's a mindless act, I don't understand why someone would do this and a hinder something positive for the town."
Mrs Cunningham said she was "frustrated" as the banners "are not cheap to produce".
Staff at the castle have also tried to locate the banner but have had no joy yet.
Ms Cunningham said: "I've checked with the castle who gave us permission and they thought we'd moved it.
"They've looked around the grounds and there's no sign.
"I can't see how it's blown away as it was so secure. It was secured with cable ties so would have been hard to rip down."
This is the second time this year the festival has had one of its banners go missing, as one was also taken following the Shrewsbury Cycle Grand Prix earlier this year.
This year's four-day Shrewsbury Folk Festival attracted a sell-out crowd of 7,000 people.
Festival organisers and Shrewsbury Police's Safer Neighbourhood Team yesterday appealed to Twitter users to see if they had seen the banner.
Anyone with information should call police on 101.
