Creamfields police dig up drugs buried at the festival site

Just days before it begins

What Creamfields search teams found buried at Daresbury

As they're intended to head off crime and disorder before the weekend begins, the sweeps are part of what the force calls “pre-event disruption work”.

Creamfields runs from Thursday 27 August to Monday 31 August at Daresbury, and officers say the searches will carry on right up to the opening.

The find was first reported by the Liverpool Echo.

Superintendent Andy Blizard, who is overseeing the Creamfields policing operation, said: "Every year we remind those attending Creamfields that there is a zero-tolerance policy regarding drugs and, every year, we counter a number of brazen individuals who think they can outsmart us by concealing drugs from view or burying them at the site months in advance".

Blizard said his teams had “spent a considerable amount of time combing the grounds” and “fully expect to find further quantities” as the operation continues.

He also had a message for whoever left them: anyone who buried a rucksack or hold-all at the site “and would like it back” should get in touch, with officers already making enquiries to identify the owners and, in his words, looking forward to speaking to them soon.