A TICKET agency which is part of the Andrew Lloyd Webber empire has made almost £1,000 profit from the last minute collapse of Wirral's Eden Festival. Way Ahead, one of the agencies that sold tickets for the doomed two-day summer event, has refused to give back booking fees when it refunded the tickets. Hundreds of music fans have now been short-changed. Sarah Long, customer services manager at the firm, said: "It is quite clear in the terms and conditions that we do not refund booking fees. "We are an independent agency and we buy the tickets at their full cost, the only money we make on them is the booking fee. "We have to cover our staffing costs." The firm, which is a subsidiary of musical supremo Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Theatre Company, charged £3 for each ticket booked through them. Although Ticketmaster, which was also selling tickets for the event, has given customers a full refund including the booking fee, Way Ahead has refused to do the same. They sold more than 200 one-day tickets and 100 weekend passes She added: "Ticketmaster is a much bigger company than Way Ahead. This is company policy and it is quite clear when people book that the fee is non-refundable. Even if they book over the phone the terms and conditions can be read out to them." Eden - an acronym for Environ-mental Development and Education Network - was to be Wirral's biggest music festival. Backed by Christian Aid, Friends of the Earth, The Vegetarian Society and Wirral Green Alliance, it had taken volunteers more than 12 months to organise. The charities joined forces to create a "totally individual music experience" and to promote awareness of issues including trade justice, recycling and vegetarianism. Former Stone Roses singer Ian Brown was to make his only UK festival appearance of the year. He posted a message to fans on his website saying he was "gutted" by the cancellation. | 
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