THE organisers of a popular brass band competition in Cornwall have had to deal with the fall-out of what they have called “serious unsubstantiated allegations”.

The committee which stages the West of England Bandsmen’s Festival held at Bugle each June said the allegations were made at its annual general meeting.

Members said the allegations were in relation to the 2024 contest and questioned the integrity of some of the contest organisers with regard to both the choice of adjudicator and test pieces.

The committee has stated that “such hurtful comments” had resulted in two long-serving members, promoter Andrew Teague and secretary Ian Powell, resigning.

In light of this, the remaining organisers held an extraordinary general meeting at the Bugle Band Room, hoping to “safeguard the future of this iconic contest”.

They were looking for people to fill the promoter and secretary roles along with the role of treasurer which was already vacant.

After the meeting, the organisers published a statement which said: “Following recent committee resignations, the West of England Bandsmen’s Festival held an extraordinary general meeting to decide the future.

“We are pleased to announce that following interest in all three vacancies, the contest committee has made the decision that we are able to continue to hold the contest for 2025. We will announce the new officers of the committee once appointed.

“We would like to thank everyone who got in touch, whether that be showing interest in joining the committee or just expressing your best wishes. Without your support, this would not have been possible.

“All of the committee would also like to take their opportunity to give our sincere thanks to Mr Andrew Teague, Mr Ian Powell and Miss Liz Husband for your years of dedicated service. Without your knowledge and experience in your roles, this contest would not be what it is today.”