NEARLY 200 people attended the second West Sussex free music festival in Worthing for 16-25 year olds with additional needs and disabilities.

SummerFest 2018 was held last Thursday and has been hailed a success, featuring live music, DJing, a dance workshop and karaoke on the main stage.

The event took place in Beach House Park, Worthing, between 5pm and 10pm and despite heavy rain at lunchtime it stayed dry for the whole event.

Harry Boxall, 19, when asked what he enjoyed about the event said: “All of it and I like doing the DJing.”

Yvonne Warner, who attended with her grandson George Carver, 16, said: “It was absolutely fantastic and I loved the way everyone treated the young people.”

Joshua Robinson, 19, who created a mystery game especially for SummerFest, added: “Love the music and it had a really nice atmosphere. I would recommend this to others.”

SummerFest 2018 was a collaboration between Palm Court, West Sussex County Council and Amaze.

It featured a mix of disabled and non-disabled performers including a DJ, a singer/songwriter from Brighton and a Brighton-based three-piece band, a four-piece covers bands and a beatboxer who was performing at his second SummerFest.

Paul Marshall, the county council’s new Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, said: “This is a wonderful event for young people with additional needs and the fact that nearly 200 visitors attended shows how popular it was.”

There were also temporary tattoos, face painting, juggling, bubblepop, giant games including Jenga, Kerplunk and skittles.

The young people were entertained with a dance workshop, live magic shows and sensory area.