Published: 11:29 BST, 29 August 2026 | Updated: 12:07 BST, 29 August 2026
A Christian festivalgoer was killed and six injured when a wooden sign saying 'Everything's Unmissable' collapsed on them in high winds.
An eye witness who helped lift the timber board off the victims has told the Daily Mail how he heard a 'massive crack and bang' as it fell.
Fred Abbott, from Morden, in south London, was sat just yards away with his young family when a 'strong gust of wind' toppled the sign in the harrowing incident.
'We were by Tom's Stage in the Field of Fun, about 20 metres away from where this massive wooden sign was,' Mr Abbott told us.
'We heard this massive crack and bang, and me and my friend ran over. There were around 30 to 50 people, including me and my friend, picking up this sign. It read: "Everything's Unmissable".'
Still 'shaken' from the incident, the project manager added: 'There were five people on the floor and not moving.
'I had to walk away because there was a man on the floor and he was bleeding from his head and from his mouth.'
Emergency services were called to Big Church Festival held on the Wiston Estate near Steyning in West Sussex following the incident at around 3.38pm on Friday.
The victim was a 41-year-old man from Eastbourne.. At least six other people were wounded at the festival, which says it is the UK's largest annual Christian music event.
A man was killed and six others injured after a sign that read 'Everything's Unmissable' fell at the Big Church Festival on Friday
An aerial view of Big Church Festival held on the Wiston Estate near Steyning in West Sussex
Fred Abbott, from Morden, in south London, was sat mere metres away with his young family when a 'strong gust of wind' is believed to have toppled the sign in the harrowing incident
It was the fifth year in a row Mr Abbott has attended the festival with his 30-year-old wife Lauren and four children.
The father-of-four says a 'strong gust' pulled down the sign, with windy conditions picking up within hours.
