Festival banners are repeatedly damaged

Several of the West Meon Music Festival's promotional banners have been stolen or vandalised.

Music director Andrew Fuller said: '˜Our local organising team always ensure they erect the banners with the landowner's permission and where they will not cause an obstruction or interfere with sight lines, so why they are persistently damaged is a puzzle.

'˜The festival also raises funds for The Rosemary Foundation, which operates a hospice at home service in Hampshire so we really can't understand what anyone may be objecting to when they trash the banners.

'˜They're expensive to produce '“ so the more often we have to pay for replacements, the less money there is to go towards the festival's nominated charity or our outreach work with schools.'

The festival, which features the Primrose Piano Quartet, opens on September 14 with a candlelit concert of music by Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, and Lehár, and continues until September 16.

Tickets are available online at westmeonmusic.com or on the door.