Death at the Tunbridge Wells swingers’ festival
Man’s body is discovered in VIP tent after 3-day ‘kinky rave’ in forest
A MAN was found dead in a VIP tent yesterday after a suspected drugs overdose at a sex festival.
Cleaners found the reveller’s body alongside an unconscious woman at 6am yesterday as they were clearing the site of the event, called Flamefest.
The grisly discovery was made days after hundreds of revellers descended on a forest outside Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent for the three-day ‘kink rave’, causing uproar among locals.
The man, in his 50s, was thought to have been staying in a luxury bell tent with a large double bed. It was not clear when he died.
The woman, who was in her 40s, was airlifted to hospital. She was said last night to be in a stable condition.
Police yesterday arrested a man in his 20s on suspicion of intent to supply illegal substances after he was found with a quantity of Class A drugs and cash at the site. Locals reacted with horror when 250 revellers arrived at the nature reserve at the weekend, which was transformed into an ‘adult play area’ and a vast S&M dungeon staffed by professional dominatrixes.
Residents were powerless to stop the sex party, which ended on Sunday, because the location of the event was only announced at the last minute to ticketholders.
A local councillor said he saw naked couples openly having sex and revellers who appeared to be high on drugs during the event, which was advertised as for ‘kinky, quirky, creative hedonists’.
Attendees paid up to £600 to stay in luxury tepees and boutique tents – like the one where the man was found dead – or £100 for standard camping, to attend workshops and live shows on everything from spanking to nipple tassel-making.
Festival organisers promised that members of the public would not witness ‘outdoor sex’ as revellers would go to ‘safe places’ to romp.
But Conservative councillor Nasir Jamil said he was horrified to be confronted by two naked couples as he walked to a lake near the festival site at 6pm on Friday.
He said: ‘People appeared to be high on drugs who were engaging in certain positions. These couples were clearly visible from the public footpath. The festival should never have gone ahead.
‘The council thought it was going to be a music festival, that’s why a licence was granted, they were completely fooled about it.’
Just hours before the body was found, festival organiser Helen Smedley praised stewards and ‘dungeon monitors’ for helping to run the ‘brilliant’ event online.
But yesterday she was uncharacteristically silent on social media after Kent Police revealed they had launched an investigation into the unexplained death. Johnny Marshall, the owner of the private woodland, which can be hired for £950 a day for events, refused to comment yesterday.
Councillor Zulhash Uddin called for a full review of safety measures at the event.
He said: ‘Safety is a number one issue at events like these and this will trigger a review.’
A Tunbridge Wells Borough Council spokesman said: ‘The council has no discretion to select the type of events held, providing they meet the requirements of the relevant legislation.’
‘Dungeons and adult play area’