A Stockport village has been split in two as festivals keep on bringing thousands to the area.

While some say the situation is 'awful', others suggested it's people 'making mountains out of molehills' and being 'spoilsports'.

At a recent Stockport council meeting, people complained of being kept awake until 2am, wildlife being impacted, and a village turned into a one-way system. For some living in the Stockport village of Compstall, 'the drugs, the litter, the noise was horrendous' in recent weeks.

These issues they believe are the result of festivals at the nearby Whitebottom Farm. Councillors said they were working with the farm to address the issues being caused but the problem was far from solved.

Karl Hancock, the owner of the farm, said they were determined to tackle any issues and were continually looking to better manage events. They also operate a zero tolerance policy towards drugs with security checks on all bags going into the festival.

Despite the complaints, opinion in the village is divided and even on the worst-affected Montagu Street, not everyone agreed. However there were complaints of people urinating, lorries damaging cars and trees, road safety concerns, traffic jams, and smashed plant pots.

One woman, who did not want to give her name, believes someone was rolling a spliff outside her house at two in the morning. After he refused to leave, she said she poured a bucket of water on his head.

She said: "The village needs help. If they did [the festivals] two times a year but every summer it's May, June, July, and August. There's retired people around here.

"They just want to chill out. It wrecks people's lives."

Another woman, Claire, said the situation was a nightmare, adding: "Just not being able to sleep is the worst thing. I do not want scratches down my car.

"It's just stressful. It's not nice. I know people that have moved elsewhere because they do not want to live here anymore. I would be quite happy moving as I do not want to live here anymore."

Steve Worth, who lives towards Marple Bridge, said they were less affected but had noticed a change in recent years, telling the LDRS: "You do see quite a lot of people park on the road and leave it at the weekend rather than pay to park at the farm car park which I imagine leads to neighbours getting quite frustrated. We do not get any noise from the festival."

However others felt the complaints were overstated. One man Aaron said: "I went to one of the festivals. That was good. I think it's an overall good thing for the area. It brings more people here and generates more money."

He added: "It's not like they are doing festivals 24/7. They are few and far between. I haven't got a bad word to say about them."

Ahead of the Firevolt festival this weekend, signs have gone up all over the village to help manage the crowds. There are also litter picks carried out in the wider area and measures to try and minimise the impact.

Karl Hancock's family bought the 50 acre cattle farm in the 1960s. However he said they had to diversify and look at other ways to bring in income to secure its survival amid a tough economic environment for farmers.

Responding to the complaints, he said he is keen to try and resolve problems urging people to come forward with issues so they can address them.

He told the LDRS: "We do not want litter. We do not want antisocial behaviour in the village we are living in. It's not like we are a promoter going onto a site and then leaving. We are here to put stuff in.

"We have put in a lot of infrastructure and bought a lot of stuff. We invested in our stages and marquees and stuff like that."

He added: "The amount of income that comes into Compstall and the surrounding area is a massive boost. If you want to book and AirBnB, you have to book it now for next year because they are full.

"I would say that is a positive. The other thing for people to come and see that 25 minutes from Manchester, there is something this beautiful is just great.

"At the end of the day, people have got opinions. For us I suppose it's trying to make sure as we have always wanted to put up some signs but were not allowed to.

"We want to put up CCTV because that we can see if there is an issue but we will also see if there isn't. Either way we have proof."

While some have in the past compared the situation to Glastonbury, Whitebottom's biggest festivals have only 4,500 people onsite compared to the Somerset festival's roughly 200,000.

He said: "I think they are getting more well known so people think they are busier but it's just more people know about them."

He said they have done everything they could and were continuing working on improving, adding: "There's always challenges and there's always things we learn.

"We can do something but that might create something else so we have got to think how we can revisit that."

Marple North councillor Steve Gribbon, who faced criticism from some members of the public at a recent meeting, believes a solution is possible, telling the committee: "Communication, just speaking to each other.

"Maintaining a working relationship and a good relationship is probably the best way forward and I would encourage that."

He added: "I think it's important to listen to the people who do object but I do think we have to take a balanced approach so it's vital to listen to the people who do support. If they suggest something that does help the residents as well, I will pass that on."

Cllr Dan Oliver, Cabinet Member for Communities, Culture and Public Protection at Stockport Council, said: "We are aware of the concerns raised by local residents about events at Whitebottom Farm.

"We take these concerns seriously and continue to engage with residents, partner agencies and the landowner on a range of issues that have been brought to our attention.

"We recognise there are strongly held views on all sides and will continue to work with all parties through the appropriate regulatory processes."