Beleaguered festival organisers who waited two years to be able to put on an event, only for it to be cut short by a freak storm, say they owe the show's survival to the loyalty of fans.

When Covid hit, bosses of the Black Deer Festival, held at Eridge Park, Tunbridge Wells from Friday to Monday, were worried they wouldn't be able to stay afloat.

It forced organisers Debs Shilling and Gill Tee to cancel shows in 2020 and 2021.

They say they don't know how they would have survived financially if it wasn't for their loyal fans. Nationally the rate of ticket retention - people not demanding refunds - for events delayed by the pandemic was around 45%.

But for Black Deer that figure was an incredible 83%.

It was held for its third year over the weekend and welcomed a record-breaking 18,000 people through its gates - all hoping to experience the best of Americana culture.

The idea started as a chance conversation at a party with the two owners discussing their history in event planning - one thing led to another and they went on to hold their first festival together in 2018.

The crowd then was 5,000 but with every event held since they have doubled their numbers.

'It was so nice to see so many people return and understand and enjoy what we're trying to do here.'

Ms Tee said: "When Covid hit people began asking for refunds and we were worried about how we could stay afloat if everyone had.

"But thankfully we have a lot of incredible people who support us and stuck by us saying they would retain the ticket for a year.

"Then of course we had to do it again but even afterwards we were still selling tickets and it meant we could pull off this amazing weekend.

"What Covid has actually meant was it gave us two years to plan and make sure we had everything the way we wanted it so when we were able to run it again we could be bigger and better than before."

Crowds were entertained over the weekend by international stars Van Morrison and Jake Bugg who both took to the main stage.

In previous years the same stage has been graced by American country legend Kris Kristofferson and British folk sensations Passenger. Hollywood actor Kiefer Sutherland also stunned the crowds with his talents as an artist.

Ms Tee added: "We've been enriched by all the smiling faces. It's good to see what we're doing resonates with people.

"It was so nice to see so many people return and understand and enjoy what we're trying to do here."

However, it wasn't plain sailing on the Saturday, as the event was closed early due to a lightning storm.

Ms Shilling said: "We monitored the weather constantly over the weekend and the storm was recorded being 30 miles away at around 9.45pm.

"We thought it would just fly past without being near us but it changed direction and within 30 minutes we could see it.

"We had to make the snap decision to close the main stage event early and get people back to safety, for some that meant going to their cars and buses and others to their tents."

The storm let rip when the final act of the night – Scottish folk band, ironically named The Waterboys – were building up to their penultimate song.

But the decision was made for the safety of everyone and within two hours everyone had safely evaded the situation.

Ms Shilling said: "The main stage was covered in essentially a metal shell and we had nowhere to send people safely and so the decision was made to cancel the night early."

Black Deer wasn't the only festival halted due to bad weather – the Isle of Wight Festival also finished early due to concerns about high winds.

Ms Tee said: "Despite the weather we didn't get a single complaint about closing early from those who stayed overnight, in fact most were saying it only added to the experience.

"The storm soon passed meaning we were in a position where we could've reopened the bars but by this time everyone had left or those staying had already broken off into small groups and were doing their own thing.

"The next day with the sun baking the ground and a breeze it was bone dry again."

The rest of the event went on as planned until its organised end at 11am yesterday.

Over the weekend festival goers could compete in chilli eating and axe-throwing competitions, take part in music workshops, or take a turn on a zipwire and climbing wall.

The cuisine was also quintessentially American with a traditional southern smokehouse.

Gill and Debs aren't able to rest on their laurels, they have already started planning next year's event, which will be held from June 16-18.

Super early bird tickets have already gone on sale as of yesterday and can be bought on their website.

Tickets cost £116.60 for adults and £58.30 for children. Camping tickets are £137 or £68.90 for children.