A Creamfields festival attendee said it was “impossible” to sleep because strong gusts shook his tent and the tents of “loads of people” had been damaged.

Jason Kamara, 23, told the PA news agency: “We were told it’d be windy but we had no idea it would be that bad.

“I think it felt worse from inside the tents but it was impossible to sleep because of the rattling sounds.

“I got out of bed at 6am to have a look at the damage and found loads of people trying to fix their damaged tents and pegs that had come undone.

“But to be honest it’s a distant memory now, the sun is out and everyone is in great spirits.

“Everyone has embraced the British weather and made the most of a bad situation which is what makes Creamfields special.”

A 20-year-old attending Leeds Festival said he has seen tents flying in the wind as the gusts “came out of nowhere”.

Declan Donnelly, an engineering production operator from Manchester, told the PA news agency he was “woken up to my tent folding in (and I was) struggling to get out of it.”

“The storm came out of nowhere. Roughly about 8.15am hundreds of people were woken up to things hitting tents, barriers and tents collapsing. We’ve seen tents, brollys, clothes, all being carried by the wind,” he said.

“We had to hold onto our tent for about one to two hours as well as double peg it as when the gusts hit it was nearly flying off.

“It seems to have calmed down now but there’s lots of tents ripped, collapsed and destroyed, with a fair few tents left by people who have chosen to go home.”

Mr Donnelly filmed a video showing a tent flying high in the air over the campgrounds.

An attendee of Leeds Festival said she was experiencing the “worst day ever” as her tent has been destroyed and her group have been asked to leave their area because the windy conditions are “really bad”.

Carrie Gill, 19, told the PA news agency that “basically our whole tent is gone” and she has spent £60 on a new tipi tent, which she has not been able to erect yet because of the weather.

The university student based in Durham said: “All the rain came in because the poles pulled so hard from the wind the fabric ripped open and leaked the whole tent with the rain. We even put those rock plastic pegs in the bottom and they have snapped.

“We aren’t allowed back into the area for hours, all our stuff is in our mates’ tent, phones on 30%. All the stores have blown over, the urinal walls are gone and lads are just pissing against fences, people’s tents are in the sky, the store shops are all over the floor and shirts and things from stores are gone. It’s honestly really bad here.”

She is waiting in a McDonald’s and will be waiting there “for a while it looks like,” adding that “it’s the worst day ever” and if her new tipi “doesn’t last”, she will be forced to return home.

“As you can imagine being a student, it’s quite an expensive festival to be going to and to be let down like this,” she added.

High winds have reduced the “flow rate” at which flights to London Heathrow airport can land.

British Airways has cancelled more than 20 short-haul flights at its main base on Friday. Two round-trips to each of Rome and Paris were grounded, as well as links to Barcelona and Basel.

On the domestic network, single BA round-trips from Heathrow to Aberdeen, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester have been cancelled.

A British Airways spokesperson said: “Due to restrictions imposed by air-traffic control as a result of adverse weather across the UK, we’ve made some minor adjustments to our schedule.

“We’ve apologised to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans and to help get them to their destinations as quickly as possible.”

SAS Scandinavian Airlines has grounded a flight from Oslo to Heathrow and back, while American Airlines flights to New York and Charlotte were cancelled.

Leeds Festival has been severly impacted by Storm Lilian, with high winds leading to major disruptions.

Organisers have advised festival-goers to remaiin in their tents as gale-force winds continue to batter the site.

The BC Radio 1 and Aux stages have been officially closed for the day, with no performances scheduled due to the severe weather conditions.

Festival orginisers posted an updated on X stating that the area will not open at 11am as planned but they are working to reopen as soon as conditions improve.

They urged attendees to stay safe and remain in their tents or vehicles until the storms fades away.