The Boardmastersfestival has been cancelled amid severe storm forecasts - hours before gates were due to open. The event - headlined by Wu-Tang Clan, Florence + The Machine and Foals - was due to host 55,000 people in Newquay.

Organisers said on Tuesday night they were cancelling after speaking to police ahead of strong winds forecasted for Cornwall on Friday and Saturday. Although the main acts were not on until Friday, gates were due to open on Wednesday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for heavy rain and thunderstorms for much of England and Wales on Friday and Saturday and said Cornwall faced strong winds.

A statement from Boardmasters organisers, posted at about 23:10 BST on Tuesday, said: "The safety of you, the fans and attendees, as well as performers and crew comes first, and the potential risk is too severe for the event to go ahead at this time."

Refund information will be shared "as soon as possible", they added.

Ticket prices ranged from £69 for day-entry passes through to VIP packages for five days of camping from about £370 per person.

The three-day event attended by 55,000 people last year was being held at Watergate Bay and festivalgoers had been already making their way to Newquay.

Some people on Twitter have tried to turn the negativity of the cancellation into a positive and have had many retweets.

Kristina Powell said she had not been able to sleep for shock after learning that the festival was cancelled after travelling from Cheshire.

She said her and her friends "at first ... couldn't and didn't want to believe it and honestly thought it was a hoax".

"It all seemed a bit unprofessional - a screenshot of a statement written on a Notes app?

"The website was down, which added to our doubt. Then, when it did come back up, tickets were still available to buy."

She said tickets were still available on the website until 01:30, despite the festival being cancelled hours earlier.

One teenager who spent about £450 said he was "never coming to Cornwall again".

Dan Ahern, 17, from Canterbury, was travelling with friends, Grace Harvey, 16, and Kieran Noble, 17 - from Margate and Whitstable - who said they were equally disappointed after catching a Megabus down to Newquay.

Kieran added that, at first, "everyone thought [the cancellation] was a scam".

He said: "We could stay and go camping but it's just even more money."

The five-day surfing side of event, due to start at nearby Fistral beach later, is due to go ahead, the BBC's Fiona Lamdin said.

Bus company Megabus said on Twitter it would be making extra seats available on its Newquay to London service for passengers affected by the cancellation.

Rail operators GWR and CrossCountry both tweeted that those with return tickets from Newquay between now and Monday "can use their returns today".

Responding to one customer, GWR added that those with "refundable tickets can get refunds if they don't travel, we are still discussing options for the non-refundable Advance fares and will share more once known".

Acts due to take part have given their reaction, with Foals reposting Boardmasters' cancellation notice on Facebook and adding the single word: "Gutted".

BBC forecaster Paul Goddard said that while the weather warning currently predicted high winds on Saturday, his weather maps were showing they were likely to hit on Friday night.

He added there could be average wind speeds of about 40mph, and gusts up to between 55 and 60mph.

Malcolm Bell, Visit Cornwall chief executive, insisted that despite the festival cancellation the county was "still open for business".

However, local businesses say they are already concerned about the effects of the cancellation.

Tim Rowe, manager of Newquay's Rip Curl shop on Bank Street, said: "My biggest problem is that families are put off coming this week because of Boardmasters.

"Not only have we lost the T-shirt-and-hats trade from the festivalgoers, we won't get the families buying wetsuits and surfboards either."

Boardmasters, a live music and surfing festival, usually takes place every year in and around Newquay.

It can trace its heritage back to 1981.

Credit: BBC