Helping to keep you safe at Y Not Festival

The annual Y Not Festival gets underway today with thousands of people set to head to Derbyshire.

We have been working with the festival organisers to ensure that all those attending this weekend's event can have a safe and enjoyable time and that we minimise disruption to local residents and the wider public.

If you or someone you know is attending please share our top personal safety tips for the event:

• Keep valuable items with you in a secure bag or inside pocket at all times. Campers are encouraged to put valuables in their sleeping bag with them when they go to bed.
• Stick with your friends. It's easy to lose people on such a large site so set a designated meeting point and always look after each other. 
• Do not bring drugs on to the festival site. Y Not has a zero tolerance approach to substance misuse and drugs. Anyone caught with prohibited substances risks arrest and will be refused entry or ejected from the site. You cannot be sure of the 'purity' of a drug just by looking, it could be mixed with anything from rat poison to washing powder. Do not put yourself or others at risk.
• If you are drinking alcohol, then know your limits. People who are under the influence may become easy targets for criminals. 
• Keep an eye on your drink and never leave it unattended. 
• If you’re the designated driver for your journey home, remember that you could still be over the limit if you have too much to drink the night before you leave. So if you plan to hit the roads the next day, stay sober the night before. No festival is worth losing your licence or your life over, and if you’re over the limit the next day, the risk of a collision is huge.

Officers will be on duty across the weekend helping to keep you safe, with our mobile police station also on site so come and speak to us if you have any concerns or issues. 

Festival organisers have also provided their own safety tips at: www.ynotfestival.com.