Charging for Airbourne has flopped spectacularly, with the actual ticket sales falling way blow the council's 'worst case scenario' projections.

It's clear the charging system had little thought go into it - not only does £5 per head seem purely arbitary when you consider most events run concessions for children, students and OAPs, the actual cost of implementing the system appears to have not been considered.

Did nobody think to check with Sussex Police how much of a levy (£100,000) they would demand if charges were brought in?

Did nobody research and tender costs for the ticket gates and the number of marshals needed, along with their wages?

Did nobody realise the people of Eastbourne aren't completely daft and that many would choose to watch the planes from a charge-free area?

It seems the council was over-optimistic in the extreme in projecting ticket sales against the added costs.

And okay the weather wasn't as good as it could have been (apart from that glorious Friday), but that's never stopped people from coming to Airbourne before.

It's a real shame the event flopped so badly as I know of many people who look forward to Airbourne and the quality of entertainment offered.

I, like many, hope this fiasco can be weathered and that the Red Arrows will return as usual next year.

It seems the RAF realised the way the wind was blowing when it bought tickets and gave them out to people in its target age range for recruitment.

After all, if nobody's paying to get in, nobody's going to be signing up!