HUNDREDS of festival-goers are one step away from becoming world record holders after a whistling record attempt in Upton.

Some 363 people at Upton Blues Festival whistled the tune of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life on Sunday.

Organisers have sent footage of the attempt to The Guinness Book of World Records for ratification.

Participants gathered in Upton playing field at around 1pm and were given Swanee whistles to play.

Oliver Carpenter, the chairman of Upton Blues Festival, said: “We whistled along to the tune for five minutes, it was great.

“Before we started, we were wondering what it would sound like but when we got them all to play a note, everyone was astonished at how half reasonable it sounded.

“The sun was shining bright and everyone enjoyed themselves. Hopefully we have a world record.”

Organisers said the festival needed more than 250 whistlers to participate for the attempt to be successful.

Mr Carpenter said the event celebrated the festival’s funding for the refurbishment of the town’s tennis courts.

The £40,000 refurbishment was wholly funded by the festival, which operates as a charity and invests its profits back into the community.

As the annual festival is free to enter, it makes money through camping charges, programme sales, stalls, bars and merchandise.

This is the last year Mr Carpenter will serve as chairman of the festival, with Grahame Bunn heading next year’s event.

Mr Bunn said: “We have been building the festival steadily over the last few years, creating an event through word of mouth.

“People come to the town for excellent music, a wonderful relaxed atmosphere, and an annual meeting of friends in music.”

Last weekend’s festival was a record success in itself, drawing in record numbers.

Some 3,500 campers stayed in Fish Meadow over the weekend and an estimated 20,000 people came to the festival.