Bosses behind a cancelled music festival have told revellers they will not be able to get refunded unless they go through their banks.

This comes after Horsham District Council revoked the licence for the One Love reggae festival, which would have brought thousands to the Highden Estate near Washington, after a "core contractor" pulled out of the festival.

Organisers of the huge event said they "can’t believe this situation has occurred" and are urging partygoers to contact their banks to help them recover the ticket costs - which could have set some back around £117.

The Argus: Horsham District Council's officesHorsham District Council's offices (Image: Google)

They say much of the money from tickets has already been spent to make the event happen - which is now not going ahead - through deposits and other payments, and they have no option but for short-changed reggae fans to get in touch with their banks.

A spokesman said: "The contributing factor to the cancellation of the festival was a core contractor pulling out on the eve of an important deadline. The contractor withdrawing meant the council could not extend the deadline and had to withdraw the licence.

"We secured an alternative trusted and competent contractor within 24 hours, but the council was unable to accommodate this timeline."

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The contractor, which is not being named by One Love since it is "not in the spirit" of the festival, was paid a deposit for its services.

One Love festival has been criticised by artists and fans before for its lack of organisation.

In 2022, artists pulled out of the festival en-masse after a string of failures from the event.

This included musician Leee John, who said that "due to the lack of professional organisation and ongoing technical issues by the promoter" he would not be performing.

DJ Darren Emerson said: "Due to contractual obligations not being met by the organisers of the One Love Festival I will be unable to attend and perform."

They were joined by ska and reggae band The Dualers who said they cancelled their performance "due to the organisers."

The reggae festival has been held annually for fifteen years but this year it has "all come tumbling down" like a "house of cards," according to a statement by the organisers.

A spokesman added: "Since Covid we really haven’t managed to bounce back fully, it really stopped us in the midst of our tracks.

"So much sunk costs, then rollovers, our website traffic, social media interaction and even our emailing list reduced.

"Costs are higher, suppliers are insisting we pay all bills in advance to supply, as a result we have already paid out almost every single penny of the event’s income towards those costs, and artist deposits.

"That means the quickest way for our customers to get a refund is to contact their visa card provider and explain this situation swiftly."

The festival was held in the Highden Estate for the first time last year and 2023 was set to be no different with Jamaican poet Mutabaruka and the Twilight Circus Dub Sound System to take to the stage.

Horsham District Council has been approached for comment.