Boomtown ups drugs policing as coroner says dealers operated freely at festival

Coroner calls for stronger Boomtown drug measures - Access All Areas

An inquest into a drug-related death at Boomtown last year has revealed what the coroner described as an “open and free trade” of drugs at the festival. Local police said they plan to “disrupt” drug sales at this year’s event. Benjamin Buckfield died at Boomtown in 2024 after taking MDMA that he bought at the festival. Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton coroner Nicholas Walker urged police to take stronger action against the drug trade this y…

Boomtown ups drugs policing as coroner says dealers operated freely at festival

As this year’s Boomtown festival gets underway, a coroner has completed his inquest into the death of a festival-goer who died at the event last year after taking MDMA he had purchased from a dealer on site. In his report, coroner Nicholas Walker urges the festival and its local police force to do more to tackle drug use at the festival, saying that “unchecked, open and free trade in unlawful drugs” at the event “will create a risk of future dea…