ORGANISERS of a much-anticipated music festival were forced to pull the plug early due to a power failure, leaving guests scrambling for refunds.

Disaster struck at Southend’s Soul Crusade Festival, featuring legendary musical collective Soul II Soul, after a freak power surge on Saturday fried “half-a-million pounds” worth of high-tech music gear.

Posted after the festival’s abrupt end, a statement on Soul Crusade’s Facebook page, apologising for the incident, was met with punters’ calls for a refund.

The statement says: “We are truly gutted at the power loss for the final part of the show in the main arena.

“This was due to a generator that surged a live current instead of neutral and completely destroyed and fried half a million pounds worth of sound and lighting.

“Soul Crusade is an event we have passionately worked on since November and to say we are devastated is an understatement.

“It is something we never in a million years thought would happen and are truly sorry for spoiling the end of the show.”

The statement goes on that Soul II Soul, known for their chart-topping sonic experiment Back to Life, has agreed to play in a Christmas event. Half-price tickets will be available for people who attended Saturday’s event.

But the statement was met with floods of frustrated festival-goers calling for a full refund, with some spending hundreds of pounds on accommodation after travelling hundreds of miles.

Beccy Mae-Rose, 36, from Westcliff, said: “We were told by someone on a megaphone to move from the main area to a smaller tent where Soul II Soul would perform.

“I arrange events for my match-making company, and for me it felt dangerously packed in there.

“Then a member of Soul II Soul came onto the stage to say they wouldn’t be playing and the mood changed.

“I was worried for the safety of my friends.

“Of course it’s a shame I didn’t get to see them.

“Seeing the band is like taking a step back into my youth.

“I understand things can go wrong at events but a contingency plan is surely needed to handle anything to goes wrong.”

Software developer Mark Sargent, 47, from Clifton Close, Benfleet, was also among the crowd.

He said: “Soul II Soul were supposed to perform at 9pm.

“Then at 8.30pm we were told they were not performing and there were problems with the musical equipment.

“I was looking forward to going to this for a few months. I was going to go to some other festivals but I chose this because I hadn’t seen Soul II Soul live before.

“Will I go to the event at Christmas?

“I’d have to have a long and hard think about that, the line-up looks great, and Soul II Soul would be there, but I need to weigh up whether it’s worth the risk of something like this happening again.”

Many also vented anger on Facebook over being charged £5 for a can of beer and having to queue for more than half an hour at the bar. Addressing those who complained, the organisers offered a formal apology stating they would make other arrangements should a future event go ahead.