Three men arrested on suspicion of supplying drugs after Mutiny Festival deaths

Second day of Portsmouth music festival was cancelled as safety precaution amid fears of ‘high strength or bad batch’ of drugs

Organisers said they were ‘devastated’ by the deaths (Mutiny Festival)

Police have arrested three men on suspicion of supplying drugs after two people died at a music festival.

The men, all from Hampshire, were held on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

A 20-year-old from Havant, a 20-year-old from Waterlooville, and a 22-year-old from Cosham were all taken into custody on Monday, Hampshire Police said.

The arrests followed the deaths of 20-year-old Tommy Cowan and 18-year-old Georgia Jones, who fell ill at Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth on Saturday night.

They were among 15 attendees admitted to Queen Alexandra Hospital, prompting organisers to warn of a “high strength or bad batch” of drugs.

The second day of the festival, which Craig David and Sean Paul were due to headline, was cancelled as a precaution.

One person remained in hospital in a critical condition on Monday, as Ms Jones’s mother pleaded with people not to take drugs.

Writing on Facebook, Janine Milburn, Ms Jones’s mother, said: “Georgia died yesterday due to complications after taking two pills at Mutiny. If nothing else I hope what has happened to her will deter you from taking anything ever.

“The pills had caused her temperature to rise so high it made her fit for 45 minutes.”

Her daughter was “full of life”, she said, adding: “I just hope this stops at least some of you from ending up the same.”

Mr Cowan, also known as Tommy Bakeer, was described as a caring young man who recently became a father.

His father Damian Cowan told Portsmouth paper The News: “He loved life and he loved his little boy.

“He was everything. He was a good lad – unfortunately he made a bad choice.”

Mr Cowan was a “brilliant” friend, according to Jack Ford, who met him at college while studying uniformed services.

“He is such a caring guy who would do anything for anyone,” the 19-year-old said. “He loved going out with his mates but most importantly loved spending time with his girlfriend and son.

“It was a big shock to lose such a great guy like him.”

Both victims were from Havant, Hampshire.

Police said Ms Jones was taken ill at the festival, in King George V Playing Fields, at 7.10pm before Mr Cowan was found collapsed 20 minutes later.

A further 13 festivalgoers went to the hospital on Saturday but a spokeswoman said they were “not necessarily all drugs-related”.

Three more people went to hospital on Sunday morning for treatment to injuries suffered in assaults or because of alcohol-related intoxication, the hospital said.

Police said the deaths were separate incidents and were not suspicious.

Mutiny Festival warned at around 9.30pm on Saturday that it was “aware of a dangerous high-strength or bad-batch substance on site”, urging people not to take any drugs.

Organisers later added: “Following the terrible news from earlier today, the team behind Mutiny Festival are incredibly sad to announce that the Sunday of the festival has been cancelled as a safety precaution.”

The festival, which was headlined by Dizzee Rascal on Saturday, also urged customers to “responsibly dispose” of any substances.

After his headline slot was cancelled, Craig David tweeted: “My heart goes out to the family and friends of the two young people who lost their lives @MutinyFestivals yesterday.”

Sean Paul wrote: “My heart goes out to families of those who lost loved ones last night.”

Police asked anyone with information to call 101.