An angry N-Dubz fan has said she wasted more than £200 of her late great grandparents' money after the band's Nottingham show was cancelled at the last minute. The London trio were due to perform at the Motorpoint Arena last night (Tuesday, November 22) but cancelled after their warm-up act finished their set due to one member, Dappy, reportedly being ill.
Leah Camille, who queued from 2pm with her boyfriend after travelling from Lincoln, said she was "very, very frustrated and angry" when she and fans were told the gig would be cancelled at 9pm. N-Dubz said they were "so sorry" for the postponement, announcing they would return to the venue on December 7.
However Leah, an 18-year-old student, said she would not be able to afford to come back for the show. "I want to go back but I can't afford to pay for everything again," she said. "I know it's not far to travel but it's still a lot of money and time, and the same could happen again."
Read more: N-Dubz cancelled latest as fans vent their anger after Motorpoint Arena show pulled at last minute
Leah forked out almost £100 for two tickets, which she is hoping to get refunded, as well as £110 for a hotel, £50 for a train ticket and further food and drinks costs. "I used my trust fund from my birthday in October, left to me by my great grand parents," she continued. "The money was supposed to be used to make memories."
The student said she was already worried as she queued for the show as Dappy had been uploading posts to social media suggesting he was unwell. "We were worried about that and were asking security guards if they'd still be coming out and they said they would," she recalled.
"Just as they were about to come on they put the message on the screen. I was very very frustrated and angry. I'd been stood out in the cold for all those hours just to be told it couldn't go ahead." Leah also described seeing fights break out amongst the crowd following the announcement. "People were fighting amongst themselves, they were that annoyed and frustrated," she said.
Her boyfriend Ali Thompson, a 19-year-old student from Lincoln, said he was hit in the head by a stray cup. "It was awful, I had a cup thrown at me, I just felt it hit my head. It was because everyone was angry, they were all throwing cups," he said.
Motorpoint Arena said it was very sorry for the cancellation and said there was no major crowd disorder. "Contrary to reports, the show was not cancelled earlier in the day, but we announced the cancellation as soon as it was possible to do so," said a spokesperson.
"Some reports on social media were wholly inaccurate. There was no major crowd disorder, the police were not needed nor present on site, and there was no criminal damage to any vehicles or the venue itself. In fact, despite their extreme disappointment and frustration, almost everyone behaved very well and we would like to thank our customers for their calm response.
"Seated tickets will remain valid for the new date but customers with standing tickets will have new tickets re-issued to them and only these re-issued tickets will be valid on the new date. If ticket holders are unable to make the new date, refunds are available at the point of purchase."
N-Dubz said in a statement: "We’re so sorry we had to cancel the show tonight. We tried to do everything possible to make the show happen, but a doctor advised at the very last minute that Dappy was unable to perform and needed to rest tonight. We had to take this advice seriously and consider Dappy’s health so that the rest of the tour can happen, which has so far has been amazing.
"The O2 Arena show (November 23rd) and the rest of the tour will still be going ahead. We will make a further statement after Dappy has seen the doctor again tomorrow morning. We’re deeply sorry to all the fans who travelled to see us tonight and promise to make it up to you with a new rescheduled date for the show."
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