Live stream of Summer Solstice at Stonehenge stopped for safety reasons
English Heritage apologise after feed pulled leaving fans disappointed
Last updated 21st Jun 2021
Thousands of people from across the globe tuned in to watch dawn rise on Stonehenge on the longest day but the feed had to be stopped after people failed to stick to advice and travelled to the site.
The vent, which traditionally attracts crowds of up to 30,000 people, was cancelled by English Heritage last week after England's so called 'freedom day' was pushed back.
The charity once again offered a live stream as an alternative with footage shared on its Facebook page and YouTube pages.
More than 200,000 people around the world, watched the live stream.
Host Ben Shires said:
"We have been disappointed a number of people have disregarded our request to not travel to the Stones this morning and that is the reason why we haven't been able to bring you the pictures that we would have liked to have done. It is disappointing to see that happen but unfortuantely in those kind of situations we have to put the safety of our staff members first and that's why we have had some interruption. I hope you understand that these are challenging times for everyone involved. We've been told that people are now being dispersed and the situation is under control."
English Heritage haven't revealed how many people turned up.
Meanwhile footage shared on Twitter showed a signifcant number of people standing in the Stone Circle at the World Heritage Site.
Wiltshire Police also closed an area near Avebury circle yesterday to stop crowds gathering there with Stonehenge off limits.
A large number of vehicles and people had arrived in the area.
Posting on social media the force said:
"We have taken the difficult decision to prevent further access to part of the Ridgeway, near Avebury, to maintain public safety and prevent potential damage to nearby farmland."