MYSTERY surrounds the cancellation of Rockin' in the Park after organisers were told that three security staff employed for the event from a Chippenham company were killed in a car accident in Manchester - but Greater Manchester Police have no record of such any such tragedy.

Organisers Brian Reid and Andy Thatcher were forced to call off the ChippFest finale on Saturday, after they received an email from Security Watch the night before telling them four of the eight staff due to work at John Coles Park had been involved in a fatal collision in the Manchester area and that three of the security guards had died.

"Everything was in place and we were ready but at 6.21pm on Friday I got an email from Security Watch to say that half of the team of eight security staff had been involved in a road traffic collision in Manchester earlier in the week," Mr Reid said.

"Three of them had died and one was in intensive care in hospital and the other members of the team were understandably unavailable to work the next day.

"I stayed up all night to make phone calls to try and get a security team that would have been able to run the event and I also spoke to the John Coles Park supervisor who told me what I already knew - that the event could not happen without adequate security."

However when the Gazette contacted Greater Manchester Police asking for details of the incident, the force press office replied: "This is not one we are aware of and we would usually be told if there had been a fatal collision."

Efforts by the paper to talk to Security Watch, which has an office in Market Place, Chippenham, this week have been unsuccessful, with the firm failing to respond to emails and messages or reply to at least seven phone calls.

ChippFest, in its third year, is a 10 day-long community arts festival. Since June 23 events have been raising money for Dorothy House and Doorway.

Thousands were expected to attend the finale party in John Coles Park, with bands and artists performing on two stages.

Following the cancellation, Mr Reid released a statement saying: "Given the tragic circumstances, please accept our apologies for not being able to give a better explanation on the day. Our priority was to ensure that people didn’t descend on the park not knowing the event had been cancelled whilst trying to protect the privacy of the families and colleagues involved.

"We would like thank the staff at John Coles Park for their help and co-operation. Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased and their families and colleagues at this time."

ChippFest organisers now say they are checking their finances following the cancellation but remain confident that they can bring the festival back to the town for a fourth year next summer.