Volunteers who agreed to work at Beachdown in exchange for free tickets fear they have been left worse off than people who paid to attend the cancelled event.

Festival organisers offered free tickets in exchange for 12 hours work during the event, but volunteers had to pay Future Festivals Ltd upfront - to ensure they turned up for work.

One volunteer Annabelle Leclercq said she had handed organisers a cheque for £195, for herself and boyfriend Pazz Khan, but has so far hit a brick wall trying to get a refund.

Amex worker Miss Leclercq, 30, of Waterloo Street, Brighton, said: “All the volunteers had a meeting with the Festival organisers last Wednesday.”

“They said: 'Don't believe the hype. The festival is still going ahead. You will get your money back.'

“There was a group of about 30 or 40 of us there.

“We had all paid cheques of £95 each made out to Future Festivals Ltd.

“We were supposed to work for two six hour shifts over the weekend, on the box office or merchandising stalls.

“I have done it at Glastonbury. They made you pay £50 out to make sure you turn up and I got the money back at the festival.

“We volunteered to work at Beachdown on the proviso of getting complementary tickets.

“Then the next day we found out it was cancelled.

“Now we are worse off than the people who paid for them.

“A lot of the volunteers were students, and for anyone in the current climate, £100 is £100 and money you can't really afford to lose.

“Because of this I would never trust a Brighton festival again.”

Some online ticket agents have been organising refunds. People who bought tickets through Ticketline and Seetickets should be eligible for a refund.

People who paid using a credit card are urged to contact their bank. There is still confusion over whether people who bought tickets from independent outlets will be able to get refunds.

Festival organiser Joe Pidgeon did not respond to The Argus' attempts to contact him yesterday.