MORE than 90 per cent of tickets bought for a Worcestershire festival were purchased by people living outside the county.

Sunshine Festival, which takes place in Upton-upon-Severn between August 28-30, has this year seen in excess of 92 per cent of ticket sales come from outside Worcestershire, with some being bought from as far afield as Australia.

Steve High, one of the festival's organisers, said: "The majority of tickets this year have been bought by people in London. People living in London love to travel to this part of the world because it's so picturesque. This year we have people travelling from Warsaw in Poland, various places in Germany and people are coming from Australia to see Suzi Quatro's exclusive British festival performance.

"It's really fascinating. We do get great support from people in Worcestershire, but they tend to buy their tickets quite last minute so it's always a panic in the last week before the festival as we're worrying suddenly if we have enough room for everyone.

"We are in our sixth year now and it has always been the case that a high number of tickets are bought outside the county."

This year's festival also features chart-toppers Gabrielle and UB40.

They will perform on the Main Stage alongside ABC, Chas n' Dave, the Wurzels, Bad Manners, Showaddywaddy and T.Rex — the Music of Marc and Mickey.

A host of local bands will also get their chance to take to the stage and DJs, workshops and various food and drink stalls will keep festival-goers entertained.

Each year the festival supports a charity, and this year will raise money for Orchard Service.

Orchard Service, which is based in Worcester, provides a nursing service to children with complex and palliative care needs around the whole county.

The festival also gives charities the chance to promote their services at the festival, and last year raised £2,000 for the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Worcestershire Royal Hospital.

For more information on this year's festival, visit www.uptonfestival.co.uk.