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Hop Farm Paddock Wood fireworks spectacular flops after dense fog takes over the venue

Visitors to a popular fireworks event were disappointed after fog ruined the fun on Saturday evening.

Rather than the bang, whizz and fizz that they'd been promised, people were subjected to a blurry haze of colour.

Attendees to the Hop Farm event on Friday night were lucky to get clear skies, and enjoyed a fantastic display, but a dense layer of fog crept in the following evening, causing the disruption to the event.

Picture by Diane Griffiths @dianeonart on Twitter.
Picture by Diane Griffiths @dianeonart on Twitter.

With a £12 entry fee, many were disappointed and left early, with reports of the smoke causing coughing fits in the crowd.

The Hop Farm has issued a statement via its Facebook page to apologise to disappointed customers.

A spokesman said: "To all the visitors to the event tonight, we were unfortunately in the midst of very unpredictable dense fog situation across low-lying areas of Kent, which can be seen from the MetOffice radar.

Photo by @DJTommyTrouble
Photo by @DJTommyTrouble

"We too were very disappointed and our priority was the health and safety of everyone on site.

"The staff managed the egress of traffic in very difficult conditions."

Alecia Crawford was understanding of the situation, and didn't blame the organisers.

A thick blanket of fog seen over the Hop Farm. Picture: Michael Brady
A thick blanket of fog seen over the Hop Farm. Picture: Michael Brady

She wrote: "It was a shame but we still had a great night and actually found it funny - it isn't overpriced so we hadn't lost out on loads so decided to look at the situation lightly.

"Why get angry over things that can't be controlled and aren't anyone's fault?"

However, others have said that it wasn't the fog causing issues, and have blamed the smoke, which was hanging in the air after the fireworks ignited.

Photo by @DJTommyTrouble
Photo by @DJTommyTrouble

Lewis Curtis said: "It wasn't the fog at all it was the smoke from the firework lingering due to no cross wind, they should have stopped the display and waited until it cleared then started again."

Ally Dolley was also unimpressed. She said: "Worst firework ever smoked out... My son started to cough and cried so tried to leave, then got stuck in the car park for 30 minutes."

After being asked about the smoke, a spokesperson for Hop Farm said: "Fireworks always give off smoke, we've never heard of smokeless fireworks.

"The issue was dense fog which descended, which is not uncommon for autumnal events. We were obviously really disappointed that the fog was so bad.

"Unlike other weather events such as rain and snow, pinpointing dense fog patches when there is fog in general, is near impossible and unpredictable."

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