A black metal music festival had to be cut short after a swastika was daubed on a wall with pigs blood at a Glasgow venue.

The Classic Grand, on Jamaica Street, has been left with a four-figure repair bill after its dressing room was vandalised on Saturday during the Caledonian Darkness festival.

The pigs blood was to be used as part of the performance for bands called Pseudogod, Sortilegia and Ifrinn at the two-day festival.

Instead it was used to daub “Third Reich imagery” on the dressing room, alongside other vandalism.

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The vandalism appears to have taken place after certain bands found out they would not be paid as the festival had not brought in enough money.

It is not known exactly who is responsible for the damage. Musicians had flown in from across Europe to take part.

The incident is not thought to have been reported to the police.

The festival was promoted by a group called Oracular Phantasm, who posted a lengthy explanation for the cancellation online, with the result of the Brexit referendum partially blamed.

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They said certain people “decided to use the blood provided for Pseudogod, Sortilegia and Ifrinn, to paint various Third Reich imagery across the dressing room resulting in a lofty decorating bill in the end.”

Metal: Nifelheim headlined the festival. Creative Commons

They continued: “Freedom of speech or whatever here is irrelevant. This act was extremely disrespectful to the venue who worked tireless with us to ensure a favourable outcome in the end and in the event of not selling enough tickets to cover hire, were extremely accommodating.”

Explaining the poor finances, they said: “With the cost of things like flights absolutely through the roof due to factors such as the value of the pound fluctuating as a result of the so-called ‘Brexit’ referendum, the festival really struggled to stay on budget.

“This was made harder with lack of sales.”

Swedish rock band Nifelheim, who had been billed as the headline act, were able to perform but Dead Congregation and Svartidaudi, from Iceland, were not able to perform their sets.

The venue said “rising tensions” were partly behind the decision to end the festival early.

Posting on their Facebook page, the Classic Grand said: “Bands had flown in from all over Europe, with performance fees agreed by the promoter, as well as riders etc. It soon became apparent that the agreed fees were not going to be available to the bands, or venue.

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“When certain acts discovered they were not going to be paid by the promoter, some took it upon themselves to challenge them/refuse to play etc.

“Several, unnamed, bands then decided to cause severe damage to the venue. Which has resulted in a four-figure repair bill.

“To ensure everyone’s safety, the promoter decided to cut short the event, a decision which The Classic Grand agreed with.”