We’re angry after 300 cars got stuck in the mud for HOURS at Bonfire Night – it was a mess

Revelers are angry after 300 cars were left stuck in the mud for hours on Bonfire Night and everything was described as a pile of rubble.

A makeshift car park at Cattows Farm near Ibstock in Leicestershire turned into a “swamp” during a fireworks display on Saturday after being drenched by Storm Ciaran.

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Local charity Leicestershire and Rutland 4×4 Response said 300 cars were still stuck in the mud two hours after the team arrived.

In a social media post at 9.35pm, the charity said the mud was “so bad that even our emergency services were struggling to reach parts of the fields”.

The Leicester Mercury reports that ten rescue SUVs were brought to the farm – with the last trapped engines not being freed until 11pm.

Leicestershire and Rutland Response said: “After fireworks, members of the public were stranded in an off-road car park at a third party event at Cattows Farm, near Ibstock.”

“Regrettably, ground conditions deteriorated throughout the day, despite efforts to build stronger roads locally.

“As the situation worsened dramatically tonight, the event company that organized the fireworks once again asked us for direct help.”

“We have provided further specialist 4×4 support to support Derbyshire’s response to get trapped families and their cars out of the car parks.”

“Our first responders arrived at 7:45 p.m. under the direction of our control coordinator Karl to formulate a plan.

“Several emergency services arrived there until late in the evening until all the trapped families were safely back on the street.”

One angry reveler said: “The conditions were terrible and extremely dangerous.”

“We went because we paid an awful lot of money and it was the worst experience I’ve had in a long time.”

Another said: “This whole event was a mess. We arrived around 2:45 p.m. and were directed into the lower swamp of a parking lot.”

“After I parked, I saw that the event parking staff had to push three cars in!

“We decided to leave after the first disappointing fireworks display, which was 50 minutes late.

“We did well because it took over two hours to get out of the ‘parking lot’.”

James Ludlam, owner of Cattows Farm, said: “Everyone had help and people left the farm of their own accord.”

“It was handled properly. The weather and the rain were a challenge for everyone involved.”

“As property owners, we were more than satisfied with the procedures implemented by the event company.

“I just went out to see what everything was like from a landowner’s perspective.

“At 8.50pm there were only half a dozen cars left in the main car park that needed help.

“Leicestershire & Rutland 4×4 Response’s figure does not confirm what I saw on the ground.

“Everyone was very aware of the weather. We had systems in place.”

“We had already used the services of the 4×4 charity. We were grateful they were there on a challenging night.

“I think everyone pulled together and people helped make it as good as it could be.”