Festival goers warned over measles risk

Music festival-goers are being warned to make sure they have had their measles jab amid concerns from a government health body south of the border about possible outbreaks of the highly infectious disease.

Officials from Public Health England said young people in “close-mixing environments such as festivals are more at risk” of contracting the potentially fatal condition, and it would be issuing alerts nationally through the summer.

“Festivals therefore pose an ideal opportunity for the infection to spread quickly,” it added.

Issuing a specific warning, health workers urged people planning to travel to the BBC’S The Biggest Weekend two-day bash, in Coventry, to check they have had the MMR jab. The region has been gripped by a higher-than-normal number of cases.