A RECORD number of tickets to a major summer festival have been snapped up by local residents – but some have been left disappointed because they missed out.

A total of 2,394 people living near Jody and Clare Scheckter’s Laverstoke Park Farm – the venue for CarFest South 2015 – bought tickets ahead of their general release. This was a 16 per cent increase on last year.

However, the organisers of the event did receive a few complaints from people unable to buy a family ticket, because they sold out. The presale is designed to ensure that local people are able to purchase tickets for the event.

Louisa Parry, show manager for the festival, which raises money for BBC Children in Need, said: “It is appropriate that those who experience a level of inconvenience should be able to buy tickets and not be prevented from doing so by the large numbers of people from elsewhere who try to buy tickets.

“What we can’t guarantee, however, is the type of ticket they can buy.”

The family tickets, which admit two paid for adults and two free children, are the most popular and make up just over 20 per cent of all the weekend tickets sold, although this is slightly higher for the resident presale.

Ms Parry said: “We know that some people who had managed to buy family tickets last year did not manage to buy them this year and that they are disappointed and feel let down.”

She added that residents were advised that the tickets were ‘first come, first served’ and although there were more tickets available than last year, there were a record number of residents who signed up.

She added: “Whilst we, Children in Need and the Scheckters are delighted that there is so much local support, we have to try to be fair to the remainder of the public who wish to attend this family event.

“We are very sorry that some people didn’t manage to buy the ticket they wanted but remain hugely grateful to all those who support the festival which together with CarFest North, raised over £1.5m for BBC Children in Need in 2014.”