A STORM temporarily dampened spirits at the Big Feastival after lightning fears forced organisers to shut the main stage.
The foodie-filled event announced the safety measure earlier today on Twitter, but it is hoped that headline acts will be able to perform as planned.
We've closed parts of the show as a precaution during the lightning storm. Other parts are operating normally. We'll keep you updated.
— The Big Feastival (@thebigfeastival) August 27, 2016
Thunder roared across the skies this afternoon as darkness descended, forcing revellers at the festival near Chipping Norton to run for cover as rain lashed down.
The Oxford Mail's Marc Evans, who was at the Big Feastival with his family, said at about 2.30pm that the main stage had shut.
@TheOxfordMail @OxMailPeteH lightning fears have closed off parts of the Big Feastival including the main stage
— Marc Evans (@MarcEvans17) August 27, 2016
But Reverend and the Makers returned to the stage just after 4pm, and organisers hoped that the worst of the weather has passed.
We're monitoring the weather situation and parts of the event are closed as a precaution. We hope to be able to resume when storm passes
— The Big Feastival (@thebigfeastival) August 27, 2016
Main Stage now!!! @Reverend_Makers are getting this party started. Come and help us dance the rain away! pic.twitter.com/yXmi2e8VNn
— The Big Feastival (@thebigfeastival) August 27, 2016
A spokesperson for the Kingham festival said: "Due to the lightening storm, certain parts of the event were temporarily closed as a precautionary measure. Those areas are now open and the whole festival is operating as usual.
"We are monitoring the weather closely as the safety and enjoyment of all our guests is our priority. Thankfully, the spell of bad weather seemingly hasn't dampened the spirits of the thousands of feastival-goers who are still on-site and enjoying all the music and food on offer."
It comes after a freak hailstorm pelted Oxford with huge hailstones the size of golf balls - click here to see our readers' photos.
This map demonstrates where lightning has struck in the past hour, and shows that parts of Oxfordshire have been targeted heavily.
Picture: LightningMaps.org CC BY-SA 4.0 / Lightning data by Blitzortung.org and contributors
New lightning strikes are yellow, with older ones marked by darker-coloured dots.
The Met Office put up a yellow weather warning for Oxfordshire this morning, predicting torrential rain downpours.
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