COMEDY Central has apologised after festival-goers were left infuriated by ticketing problems at Comedy Central Live! in Southampton.

Angry comedy fans took to social media to complain about the organisation of the show, which was held in Hoglands Park on Saturday and Sunday.

Headliners included Jimmy Carr, Russell Howard, Britain's Got Talent winner Lost Voice Guy, and Lee Nelson, but those attending were upset at ticketing problems.

As reported by the Daily Echo, some criticised the "complex" system which saw some tickets sold for £90 and others for £20.

Many fans were forced to wait in the rain for free tickets to headline acts.

Steve Mills took to social media and wrote: "At comedy shambles live in Southampton.

"Strangest/worst thing I've ever been to."

Matt Watts wrote: "It's the most poorly organised event I have ever been to.

"Didn't see anything. Also the management refused to speak to us. Utterly abhorrent service."

Georgia May Felton said: "I'm so disgusted with your organising of Comedy Central Live!

"How can you justify selling tickets for an event to then make everyone queue up again for another ticket?

"You've charged people to stand in a field."

In the days before the festival opened, tickets were reduced to £20, but organisers insisted that it was made clear that buying a £20 ticket did not guarantee entry to the main stage acts.

A Comedy Central statement says: "We are very sorry to hear that a small number of ticket holders were unhappy with their experience at Comedy Central Live.

"Thousands of people have attended and enjoyed the event this weekend – with over 70 of the UK’s biggest and best-known comedians performing, we believe a standard daily ticket to the festival, priced at just £20, represents fantastic value for money.

"Comedy Central Live has been consistently publicized as featuring multiple comedy acts performing each day across four different stages within the same venue.

"All ticket holders were informed at the time of purchase – and reminded subsequently – that their ticket did not guarantee them access to see any individual act and that seating would be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

"In order to manage excess demand to main stage shows and to ensure the health and safety of ticket holders, we asked those wishing to see main stage performances to collect an additional ticket, at no charge, to guarantee them access to the main stage.

"Unfortunately, because of the large number of tickets involved, this required them to spend some time queueing in inclement weather conditions, for which we apologise."