Two men have been arrested after an estimated £145,000 worth of trackway panels were stolen from Boomtown festival.
Staff packing down the Matterley Estate site on 27 August noticed a number of the panels were missing. In total, 65 were taken. The trackways are used for vehicle access and movement around the festival grounds.
The theft was discovered after Boomtown’s 2026 edition, which ran from Wednesday 12 to Sunday 16 August. Organisers put around 77,000 people on site for a record weekend, billed as Chapter 5: Radical Redesign.
That run featured a stacked 2026 line-up including Skrillex, Four Tet, Faithless, Madness, Scissor Sisters, Kneecap, Scooter, Ashnikko, Shaggy and EVE, with later additions such as DJ EZ and Kae Tempest. The site also hosted The Observatory, an academic research hub built into the festival.
The force posted this update on Thursday morning: “Two men have been arrested after an estimated £145,000 worth of trackways were stolen from Boomtown festival. It was reported that on 27 August staff at the site noticed a number of trackway panels missing whilst they were packing down. The panels are for vehicle access and movement around the site. A total of 65 were stolen.
Following a number of enquiries, officers investigating have arrested two men. A 57-year-old man from Hayling Island was arrested on Monday (7 September) on suspicion of theft. He has been released on police bail until 7 December. A 26-year-old man from Havant was arrested yesterday, 9 September, on suspicion of theft. He remains in custody at this time.”
Trackway panels are temporary roadway sections laid across fields so trucks, plant and crew vehicles can get around during build and pack down. Losing 65 of them is a serious blow, even for a festival Monzo recently named the UK’s best value event of the summer.
Image credits: Giulia Spadafora, Eljay Briss
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