Reports of concert and festival scams have increased 529% over the past year, according to data from Lloyds Bank.

Victims of the scams have lost an average of £110, though some have lost thousands, the high street lender said.

The figures compare the year to February this year with the 12 months before that.

They reflect that people have returned to visiting events after the lifting of COVID restrictions.

While there was a large rise in the number of festival ticket scams, Lloyds said there were also big increases in the number of incidents involving comedy and theatre tickets, though the volume was much smaller.

Attempts to swindle money out of visitors to major festivals and concerts were the commonest form of scam, with the reason thought to be related to the number of sold out events.

The most common festival ticket scam was for the Reading Festival and the gigs most targeted were those by Harry Styles. Other popular acts and performers which found themselves the target of scammers included Lewis Capaldi, Coldplay and Calvin Harris.

Scammers charged customers for tickets which did not exist and sometimes for gigs that had already sold out.

A common method involved creating fake websites, sending bogus emails and operating dodgy social media pages.

People fell prey to frauds by paying up-front for tickets which would never arrive. Scammers would then disappear.

Lloyds has warned fans to be on their guard in the run up to the summer concert and festival season. The bank advised against paying by bank transfer and recommended using pay pal, credit or debit cards.

"If you're being asked to pay by bank transfer, particularly from a seller you've found on social media, that should immediately set alarm bells ringing," Lloyds Bank Fraud Prevention Director, Liz Zieglaer, said.

"It's equivalent to handing someone cash on the street and doesn't come with the protections of other card transactions.

"Buying directly from reputable, authorised platforms is the only way to guarantee you're paying for a real ticket. Even then, always pay by debit or credit card for the greatest protection."

Buyers who pay with cards can benefit from consumer credit legislation which says credit card providers are jointly responsible for misrepresentation by a seller and can help recoup money spent.