The Doncaster Balloon Festival is returning this June

Worried residents in a Doncaster suburb have expressed fears over a huge hot air balloon festival coming to the city later this year - after a similar event at Wentworth Woodhouse caused chaos at the weekend.

Doncaster Balloon Festival is set to return to the city for a third consecutive year on July 24 and 25 - with organsiers promising a feast of fun fir all the family.

The huge and colourful festival packed drew thousands of people of all ages to Town Moor on its first appearance in 2024, with a large turnout again last summer.

However, ,mebers of Town Field Community Group are seeking reassurances after an event at Wentworth Woodhouse by the same organisers caused traffic chaos.

Bosses at the stately home were forced to apologise after huge traffic jams built up around the site.

A spokesperson for TFCG said: “The event previously has caused much disruption to local residents due to poor traffic management and on-street parking.

“We want the council's events team, the Mayor, councillors and others to be aware of the issues experienced by Wentworth Woodhouse with the same organiser.

“This event will not be held again at Wentworth Woodhouse and obviously there are concerns that the organiser for the Balloon Festival in Doncaster will be responsible for vehicle management.

“We understand that there will be no control to stop vehicles parking on the streets around the Town Field which, for some drivers, will be their preference despite car parks being available.

“Can you give us some re-assurance that this year's vehicle management will not be a repeat of the situation in 2024 when local residents had significant issues with cars parked on their roads, drives being blocked and residents afraid to leave their houses by car as they could not park when they returned.”

A spokesperson for Wentworth Woodhouse said: “I would like to offer our sincere apologies to all visitors who experienced difficulties travelling to and from Wentworth Woodhouse and Wentworth village.

“For every major event held at Wentworth Woodhouse, we require organisers to demonstrate that they have met all traffic management requirements and capacities set out by the Local Authority Safety Advisory Group.

“Regrettably, on this occasion, the event organiser failed to deliver the agreed traffic management arrangements in accordance with their contractual obligations. This fell well below the standards we expect and, for that, we are truly sorry.

“We recognise the frustration and inconvenience this caused to our visitors, local residents and the wider community. I want to assure everyone that we will not be working with this organiser again.

“We have carefully reviewed what happened, identified the lessons to be learned, and are already implementing measures to ensure a situation like this cannot be repeated.

“For future events, traffic management will be overseen directly by the Wentworth Woodhouse team or by our appointed contractors, who have extensive knowledge of the site and its operational requirements.

Once again, I apologise to everyone affected. We greatly value the support of our visitors and local community, and we look forward to welcoming you to Wentworth Woodhouse again during our summer events programme.”