A TikTok star from Darwen is set to bring his podcast to Leeds Festival today but his plans have been disrupted after Storm Lilian appears to have 'blown the stage away'.

Max Balegde, who hosts The Useless Hotline podcast with George Clarke, was due to bring his podcast to the stage and perform in front of Leeds Festival crowds today, on the Aux Stage.

The duo confirmed that the show has been cancelled but said they will be hosting a "mini meet-and-greet" from 4pm until 4.45pm

A TikTok video, which at the time of writing has been viewed by more than 50,000 people, features Max and George with the caption: “POV: You’re driving to Leeds Festival to perform and get told the stage has blown away”.

In an update on The Useless Hotline Instagram page, a statement said: “Our Leeds show has been cancelled. However, we are doing a mini meet-and-greet from 4pm until 4.45pm because we want to see you guys while we're here.

"We will be in the arena working on the location now."

In an statement Leeds Festival confirmed that it has “definitely lost the BBC Radio 1 and Aux Stage”. It said there will be no performances on them today.

A spokesperson said: “Everybody can see and feel that we’re suffering from the winds, currently. We’re urging you to stay in your tents if you are on site and feel safe to do so. Your safety is our number one priority.

“We have definitely lost the BBC Radio 1 stage and there will be no performances on it. We have also lost the Aux Stage and there will be no performances on it. We remain hopeful that everything else will continue as planned.”

George and Max will perform at Reading Festival on Sunday, August 25, from 5.45 to 6.30pm. 

Storm Lilian has caused chaos across Lancashire today (August 23), causing trees to fall down, roads to close and dozens of homes to be without power.

A yellow weather warning for strong winds was in force from 5am until 11am on Friday. The public was warned to expect disruption to travel and infrastructure.

One lane was closed on the M65, between junction 11 and junction 12, due to a fallen tree and reports of an accident. Police said no one was injured in the crash