Festivals: Why stage a dirty protest when you can just tune out?

It's not the first time a musician has been pelted with something while performing on stage and it certainly won't be the last. But even Cher Lloyd's biggest detractors must have felt sorry for the singer after a bottle of urine was thrown at her while she performed at the V Festival in Hylands Park, Chelmsford this weekend. The former X Factor contestant was only on her second song when she was hit, causing her to flee the stage. Being a festival with four main arenas, it's a shame the unhappy reveller didn't, you know, just go and watch something else.

Taking aim at the stage is certainly a popular pasttime among disgruntled gig-goers. Earlier this month Rizzle Kicks were forced to halt a show after being pelted with glow sticks. In June, Kanye West scolded the audience after someone threw coins at him. Last year Justin Bieber narrowly avoided six eggs hurled from the crowd.

Naturally, acts are likelier to have stuff bombarded at them should they find themselves playing somewhere rather incongruous with their own sound. Who can forget bratty pop duo Daphne and Celeste being run off stage by flying food at Reading Festival in 2000? The rock fans were similarly unimpressed with the appearance of 50 Cent, whom they bottled four years later. Rapper Lethal Bizzle was bottled at metal festival Download in 2008, while Justin Timberlake was similarly greeted at Toronto Rocks in 2003.

But if the perpetrator was protesting about the standard of Lloyd's music, one might suggest skipping V – the only festival that you'll ever find The Saturdays on the bill – in the first place.