THE SEVERN Revels event has come under more crossfire from members of Hewelsfield and Brockweir parish council.

In a statement this week the council say the organisers have fallen into the hands of those who wanted a pop festival "where illegal drugs were available and an inherent part of the scene ..."

Police have confirmed 40 arrests were made over the three day event.

The council statement continues: "Can any responsible person really think it wise to hold an event advertised for the family where illegal drugs are available and where young people see the police do nothing to stop illegal drug taking?

"The kindest comment that one can make about the Forest of Dean District Council is that they were so naive as to mistakenly encourage such an event and subsidise it to the extent of £20,000.

"Many people who live in Hewelsfield and Brockweir together with the three neighbouring parish councils closest to the Hewelsfield site – all of whom opposed holding the Revels on the site – are grateful to the police for ensuring the event went off comparatively peacefully. Many of the visitors also saw the police carry out their duties courteously and discretely and local residents were reassured by their presence."

Meanwhile Coun Chris Vidler, of Popes Hill, near Newnham, is to ask fellow members of the Labour group and council officials to thoroughly review the options for a permanent festival site in the Forest of Dean.

In a statement he said: "Dean Arts has shown the way – for far too long we have underestimated the positive outcomes from events such as Severn Revels. People of all ages from all over the region came and had a great weekend listening to people from all over the world."

Coun Vidler said the positive contribution of the arts to the economy was often ignored.

He claimed more jobs were likely to be created in the arts and media than in other sections of the economy and said that the Forest had an opportunity to take advantage of the upsurge in interest in the arts by making the most of the wealth of local talent.

"Now is the time to take advantage of government funding to invest in the arts and invest in all our futures," he said.