A £20 entrance fee for a popular Wolverhampton country music festival has been scrapped following a petition signed by more than 2,000 fans.

The city council has decided that Wolvestock will remain a free event, after the petition and angry letters were sent in.

The event, which takes place at East Park on July 25 and 26 this year, has been free ever since it started in 1994 but the controversial charging plans were revealed in February – at £12 for day tickets or £20 for the weekend.

Around 150 people had already paid for tickets and they will be reimbursed.

Following the public outrage, the authority’s ruling Tory-Liberal Democrat alliance agreed to drop the charges.

Councillor Neville Patten admitted that the charges had come as a “shock” for residents and believed the negative feedback had resulted in the u-turn.

He said: “We have received many letters from people disappointed that the event would be subject to a charge this year – it seemed to have become a bit of a shock for many.

“Therefore, we have found funding to stage the event for free this year. We will, however, be looking to make the event self-financing in the near future.”