Download Festival goer says he is still unwell nearly a month after eating Yorkshire pudding

A festival-goer has spoken about his battle with suspected food poisoning after he ate food at Download Festival. Daniel Fitzsimmons claimed he started feeling ill with sickness and diarrhoea after he ate a pulled pork Yorkshire pudding at the event just over the Nottinghamshire border in Castle Donington.

The 27-year-old had to cut short his stay at the three-day rock festival and sought advice from his GP due to the severity of his condition. Daniel, from Norfolk, says he is still struggling with a 'bad stomach', and ongoing diarrhoea, and has found it difficult to manage his job as a production engineer because of the frequent need to visit the bathroom.

He said: "I'd been looking forward to Download for a while, as my favourite band Limp Bizkit were performing. Sadly, however, I didn't get to see them as I fell ill the first day after eating a pulled pork Yorkshire pudding."

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He added that despite the food being smothered in mashed potato and gravy and not particularly hot, he initially dismissed any concerns. It was only after others also reported sickness that he suspected the food might be responsible, Leicestershire Live reports.

He said: "The festival really didn't give off the best impression anyway, due to all the mud and overflowing toilets. But to then become sick was the final straw for me and I left early.

"I'm still not right and I feel like everyone that's suffered deserves some answers, at least to help prevent it happening again in the future."

James Grange, 28, who also attended the event, began experiencing vomiting and diarrhoea after consuming a burger on the first day. He had to leave the festival two days earlier than planned and sought advice from NHS 111 during his journey back to Chesterfield.

Still battling with the after-effects, James reported ongoing diarrhoea, nausea, and light-headedness days later. The customer service advisor said: "I'm not usually one to get sick and I think I have quite a robust stomach. But shortly after eating at Download, I was very unwell."

He recalled the burger tasting somewhat off and being lukewarm but didn't initially connect his illness to the food until he heard about others getting sick. Jatinder Paul, a public health lawyer at Irwin Mitchell who is representing Daniel and James, has urged anyone else who fell ill at the event to step forward.

He said: "The reports we've heard of the problems at Download Festival, and the first-hand accounts from Daniel, James and others, are deeply concerning."

He added that the closure of two food stands by the organisers indicates the magnitude of the issue. It's been reported that over 500 festival-goers have been affected by illness.

"The scale of the problem is concerning and really not something you'd expect from such a high-profile event. Gastric illness is serious and the impact of it should never be downplayed. In some cases, it can lead to long-term health complications."

Live Nation, the organisers of Download Festival, confirmed they are investigating the outbreak. North West Leicestershire District Council previously said it was investigating two vendors, which were subsequently shut down. The vendors have not been publicly named.

A spokesperson for the council stated that they would "continue to investigate the outbreak".

Paul Sanders, head of community services at NWLDC, said: "We carried out ongoing food hygiene safety checks on site throughout the five days of the festival to ensure that all vendors were up to the required standards."

"Where we find improvements are required, we provide advice and carry out a further visit to ensure the improvements have been made. We worked with the event organiser to investigate two food vendors, both of which were closed by the event organiser over the course of the weekend."

"We are aware of reports of people feeling unwell and will continue to investigate. Anyone continuing to feel unwell following the Download festival should contact their GP in the first instance."