VILLAGERS in Flaxley were 'outraged' over the weekend, as a three day festival there turned out to be rather more than just a normal music festival, amid claims of public sex and nudity.

Billed as Swingfields, the event on the outskirts of the village turned out to be a three day 'swingers' sex festival – with hundreds of revellers enjoying what the organisers called a 'lifestyle' event.

But locals were caught off their guard as the festival began last Thursday, when the main PA system kicked into life. Then, as deafened villagers went to the festival entrance to remonstrate at the volume that the music was played at, they were shocked to see banners with 'explicit signs' on them, and even the words Three Is The Magic Number.

The security staff were desbribed as 'intimidating' and 'not helpful', as they refused to turn down the music.

Festival-goers on the site wore wristbands, as is normal for such an event, but at Swingfields they were colour coded to indicate the wearers sexual preferences.

A local resident, who did not wish to be identified, told the Review: "It all started on Thursday evening when the tents and the double decker bus with the bar arrived. Then hundreds of people turned up, blocking the village, as they queued to get onto the site.

"Then the music started, and it was incredibly loud, so some villagers went down to ask them to turn it down a bit, and it was then we saw what sort of an event it actually was.

"From early evening we could see there were people naked on the site, and many were drunk. Closer to the field you could hear people having sex. Apparently that went on all weekend.

"I packed the car and took my kids away for the rest of the weekend. I just did not wish to expose them to such depravity. We came back on Sunday and the last of the festival was being dismantled."

She added: "I think it is just shocking and disgraceful, and wonder who on earth gave these people permission to hold such a disgusting event here in the Forest."

As news that the event was going on hit social media on the internet, more people turned up on Friday and Saturday and tried to access the site via local people's gardens, causing alarm.

The Swingfields festival has been held since 2013, and moved to the Flaxley site this year from its usual location in Worcestershire.

As well as live music and bars, organisers also laid on hot tubs, a chill pool, workshops, food stalls, and stalls selling adult sex toys.

The location of the event was kept a secret until just hours before it went ahead, to ensure the event remained "discrete and secure".

A relaxed dress code on the organisers website stated that "bottom halves should be covered in the festival arena."