Myself and a few friends attended Abbyfield festival; great atmosphere, relaxed, just as photos depict. We were all looking forward to Zion Train's gig, but were suddenly told we had to clear the park. Official version is that there was a bomb;our version is that BNP or some such negative organisation i.e. police/"intelligence" placed the call in order to disrupt the festival and bring it all home to us about how we should all be continually terrified and living in fear. We believe this because we think it's highly unlikely that Al-Quaida would target a multi-cultural festival in Sheffield's poorest area, particularly one where large numbers of Muslim children and people had gathered. There was a massive police presence right from the start, which was very unusual and has not happened on previous festivals at Abbyfield and this increases suspicions that the police themselves, may have been responsible for the bomb-scare. There was no bomb and the Burngreave community were denied their festival anda chance to enjoy Zion Train.

Would it be possible to rearrange the festival for another day later in the year?

I'm sure the if the police were the gestapo types made out above then they would have bigger fish to fry than a small event with little significance. Surely a far-right threat if anything...

I have heard several different explanations have been given by people for the evacuation of Abbeyfield park on Sunday

It was kids mucking about
It was gangsters causing trouble
It was a right wing organisation reacting to the London bombs
It was the continuing Al-Quaida threat
It was a police training exercise

Who knows what the truth is however we can all see that every one of these reasons is at least as credible as the official reason ie that a bomb threat that had to be taken seriously had been made.

We all know that the police world wide have failed to stop terrorist attacks in New York, Madrid and now London precisely because no warning was given so the fact that one was given already makes me suspect that there is something different about this compared to real bomb attacks. The police clearly feel they have to act because "if the threat were real not to would be irresponsible" but we have to ask how can they really separate the true warning from the blatant hoax. The answer is they can't and they don't, the result is that the public are treated as cattle for their own saftey. This has happened in Birmingham Sheffield and probably elsewhere (after all Abbeyfield park never made the national news so how many other scares haven't). We have to ask ourselves are we ready to take the risks associated with these threats. On Sunday I for one would have, there is very little that could have been said down a phone line that could have convinced me to clear a park without some real evidence, something more dangerous than an empty bag would have had to be found for me to stop the festival. It is important that we force the police to justify their actions else we will be for ever treated as cattle and have our days out ruined.