PICTURES: Sheep graze in littered Electric Picnic campsite weeks after festival

Sheep have been spotted grazing in a littered Electric Picnic campsite, two weeks after the Laois based festival ended. 

Tents, pillows, plastic bags and rubbish are still strewn on the ground of a field on the Cosby estate in Stradbally, despite an earlier statement by Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn that clean-ups are rapidly carried out.

The Leinster Express / Laois Live photographed a flock of sheep eating and resting in the littered field, seen from the public road, on Tuesday, September 3.

The entrance is on the Abbeyleix Road. 

A spokesperson for Electric Picnic has confirmed to the Leinster Express / Laois Live that the sheep escaped into the field.

"The sheep did escape from an adjacent field and they are being put back there now as we speak," they said on the same day of the photographs. 

A reason and a timeline for the clean-up was also given.

"Unfortunately our third party luxury tent provider was hit very badly by storm Lilian which resulted in their campsites being delayed for clearance for insurance purposes. This is the field the sheep escaped into and was the only outstanding field and will be cleared by close of play tomorrow," they say.

On Sunday, August 18 at the 2024 Electric Picnic Festival, Mr Benn had said that the campsites are cleaned up soon after the festival ends, with just one day given for salvagers to gather and reuse discarded items.

A comment has been requested from the Stradbally Hall landowner, Thomas Cosby.