CROWDFUNDING has seen to it that a first-time music and arts festival can be held in Porlock this summer after passing its £20,000 target a month ahead of its initial fundraising campaign closing.

It took just three weeks for Samphire, a new independent festival, to raise the festival funds with support from over 200 backers, and it has been dubbed the fastest-ever successfully funded festival on the Crowdfunder website.

The first Samphire Festival is set to go ahead from July 8 to 10 on Porlock Hill.

To take place, it needed at least £20,000 pledged by February 9 - but this week it had already raised £25,260 from 214 backers.

People pledged individual amounts from between £65 anf £300.

Organisers Flora Blathwayt, a music journalist and radio DJ, and Josh Beauchamp, an engineer and entrepreneur pictured), are now seeking further funding to reach the £40,000 they estimate will be needed.

“We’re so excited to be bringing Samphire into the festival mix next year and to be turning our vision into a reality,” they said.

“We’re thankful to everyone who has pledged on Crowdfunder and helped us get Samphire off the ground, and we can’t wait to welcome our supporters into our brand new Samphire family.”

Having seen festivals struggle financially over their first couple of years, they said they had opted for the less risky crowdfunding strategy.

“By crowdfunding money from the general public, it enabled us to create a community of backers invested in making it happen, instead of relying on a few potentially less engaged significant funders.

“In return, the ‘crowd’ receive rewards, such as reduced cost tickets, sponsorship opportunities and the chance to join the exclusive Samphire 100 Club,” they said.

The proposed festival will have an ecofriendly ethos including compost loos, solar powered stages, wind turbines and sponsored stainless steel pint cups to create a ‘no plastic’ policy on site.

In association with Unplugged Weekend, the organisers also want to encourage people to disconnect from devices and put their digital lives on hold, to “get back to basics” and enjoy their natural surroundings.

More than 30 live acts and DJs across two main stages are being lined up, with a range of music from folk and funk to pop, indie, jazz and disco.

There are plans to provide West County food, drink and arts, alongside activities and workshops.

The name Samphire was inspired by the culinary plant that grows on Porlock’s salt marshes.

Anyone interested is invited to visit the Crowdfunder website, the Samphire social media pages, or contact the organisers at [email protected].