ROCKERS raised £2,500 for Midlands Air Ambulance at Upton's three-day Drunken Monkey music festival.

Hundreds of rock fans attended the festival in Welland Road, with more than 50 bands performing from August 5 to August 7.

The annual festival commemorates the life of father Ian Downton, who tragically lost his life in 2009 after being airlifted to hospital.

Steve Coyne, one of the festival organisers, said: "The event was staged entirely by volunteers who gave their time for free.

"Many of the volunteers knew Ian personally. It costs around £2500 for every helicopter excursion.

"Fans were unanimous in their praise for the event telling us about the happy atmosphere and that they wanted to come back next year."

Organisers are putting money from ticket sales back into the festival and also donating £2,500 to the air ambulance, £1,000 of which came from Barclays.

This year marked Drunken Monkey's third outing and was also its first time at the Welland Road venue.

The bands all performed for free, with one coming from as far afield as South Africa.

Rock bands such as Dizzy Lizzy, Moretallica and Soul Stripper took to the two stages during the weekend event.

Next year's festival promises to be even bigger and will take place on August 4-6, with free weekend camping.

Several local businesses supported the festival and for more information people can visit the website.