TWO Status Quo fans travelled hundreds of miles to see Francis Rossi play in Furness - only to miss out after they turned up at the closed Forum theatre.

Roy and Pam Roberts made the journey from their home in Torquay, Devon, after embarking on the 350-mile trip but found what they thought was the right venue closed to the public.

The singer's solo acoustic show, part of a UK tour, was moved to Ulverston's Coronation Hall with the Forum closed following the discovery of harmful asbestos earlier this year.

The concert-goers said they faced waiting for a £50 taxi to Ulverston that would have left them missing a large portion of the show so decided not to go.

The couple said they missed emails informing them of the change of venue.

Roy, a 70-year-old retired engineer, told a national newspaper: “We are absolutely gutted. The show was a present from my wife after we missed out on getting them for the previous tour.

"We were on holiday when Francis announced extra dates so we just booked them on the spot.

"It was only when we looked at a map we realised just how far away Barrow in Furness was."

He described the debacle as a 'total disaster'.

The Status Quo frontman has promised to invite Roy to a future show.

He said: “This is very unfortunate. I know that warnings went out about the venue change but this kind of mistake is easily made.

"Having said that everyone else made it: the venue was banged out!"

Westmorland and Furness Council announced in September the show was one of several being rescheduled after disruption at The Forum.

(Image: Francis Rossi on stage in Ulverston)Councillor Virginia Taylor, the council's cabinet member for sustainable communities and localities, said at the time: “The team at the Forum have been working incredibly hard to contact promoters and event organisers to discuss options and to work with them to find a way through this difficult situation.

“We have been contacting ticket holders as soon as we have information confirmed about their event and answering lots of the inevitable questions and queries that have arisen since the announcement about the theatre space closure."

The closure of the theatre came following a water leak when investigations in the backstage area of the venue confirmed the presence of asbestos in the part of the roof affected by the leak.