A coroner has expressed worries about the open drug market at Boomtown festival following the death of a young man. The festival and Hampshire police are urged to address the issue to avoid further tragedies.
Coroner Calls for Action at Boomtown Festival
A coroner has highlighted concerns over an "unchecked, open and free trade" of drugs at a festival after the death of a 22-year-old man. Benjamin Buckfield died after he took MDMA he had bought at Boomtown festival near Winchester in August last year, an inquest found.
Coroner Urges Measures to Prevent More Deaths
Coroner Nicholas Walker has called on Boomtown and Hampshire police to take action to prevent more deaths at the event, which starts on Wednesday. Boomtown said it would now "work with the police to respond to the coroner's report". The police also acknowledged the concerns in the report and said it would "continue to discuss these with the event organisers before providing a response".
Risks Posed by Unchecked Drug Trade
Mr Walker, area coroner for Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton, said he had taken into account the changes made by the festival and the police for Boomtown 2025 before making his comments. "I heard evidence that illegal drugs were freely available to purchase at the festival," he said.
- One of Ben's friends described how dealers would walk through the campsites shouting the names of the drugs they were offering to supply.
- I was told this took place as regularly as every 20 minutes and that they saw nothing done to try and disrupt this trade.
- I am concerned that an unchecked, open and free trade in unlawful drugs will create a risk of future deaths.
Police Response and Event Preparations
Assistant Chief Constable for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, Tony Rowlinson said: "Public safety is our absolute priority." He acknowledged the concerns raised in the coroner's Prevention of Future Deaths report and mentioned plans to collaborate closely with event organisers to address the issue.
More than 60,000 people are expected to attend the sold out event at Matterley Estate in the South Downs National Park, which runs until Sunday.
As part of our forward planning for this year's event, we had reviewed last year's plans and worked with the organisers to implement measures which strengthen the event partnership's ability to disrupt anyone suspected to be involved in supplying drugs."
Festival's Response
A Boomtown statement said: "We thank the coroner for his thorough investigation, which highlights the ongoing and very real risks posed by drugs – even where strong harm reduction measures are in place."
"We will now work with the police to respond to the coroner's report."
Published on 14 August 2025 by UKFG
