Organisers of the three-day music extravaganza have teamed up with the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) to raise money for five armed forces charities.

The Big Salute raises funds to help those who have served their country and been seriously injured or carry other less visible scars.

Organisers say the Big Salute night complements Scarbor-ough’s Heroes Welcome initiative and they hope serving members of the armed forces will turn out to support the event – and have a great weekend into the bargain.

Catterick, the British Army’s biggest garrison, is only 70 miles from Scarborough and organisers say the festival is within hailing distance of around 20,000 British Forces and their families, including the RAF stations a little further away at Coningsby and Waddington.

Beached, which runs from August 14 to 17 is free to attend, but organisers hope that festival-goers will give a big hand to injured British troops by buying a Big Salute wristband, T-shirt or throwing a pound or two into the Big Salute collecting buckets around the site.

BFBS Radio DJs, back from broadcasting to Forces in Iraq, will be MC-ing the night. Bands who are giving their time for free in order to support the troops include the Mexicolas, High Priests, The Domino State, Joanne Ramsay, and Iraq’n’Roll, a band formed on ops in Iraq, are getting back together from all over the world to play.

Helen Williams, Controller of BFBS TV, said: “When the organisers of Beached contacted us saying they wanted to join forces and support our Big Salute campaign, we were delighted.”

“Scarborough is a Forces-friendly seaside resort, with many local businesses displaying a Heroes Welcome sticker, and promising a warm welcome, and in some cases a discount, to military personnel.”

Organisers hope to announce the full line-up for this year’s Beached festival tomorrow.

l Heroes Welcome is an initiative by businesses in Scarbor-ough and backed by the Evening News to offer serving members of the Forces a warm welcome and discounts on various goods, services and attractions.