RICHMOND Live was one of the best music festivals in the North- East.

There was a great family atmosphere with picnics and groups of people of all ages mixing and enjoying the music.

And it was free.

Then, suddenly the organisers thought it was a mini- Glastonbury and decided to erect a six-foot fence all around the site, leaving no access to the river for the kids and security searching picnic baskets upon entry (to prevent under-age drinking, apparently).

There was supposed to be a one-off charge which is now a permanent one but, alas, the quality of the headliners is not worth the fee.

Jeff Elliott, Catterick.