PEOPLE were left angry and disappointed after a technical problem hampered attempts to get hold of Olympic torch party wristbands.

The 700 extra tickets for the beach event to welcome the torch on Thursday evening sold out in five minutes.

The line up for the event includes rapper Wretch 32 and Britain’s Got Talent stars Twist and Pulse, but many said they were left disappointed and frustrated after a technical problem meant they were faced with a screen asking them to enter a password.

Others said they felt ‘discriminated against’ after they called a number to apply for tickets but were told the council offices were closed.

A spokesman for Weymouth and Portland Borough Council said there had been a technical issue with the website and phone line and apologised for the problem.

Tom Hopkins said he had been on the internet at 8am but was greeted by a screen message telling him to put in a password.

He said: “I’m not impressed at all.”

Preston resident Barbara Pavely had been trying to get through on the phone for tickets as she doesn’t have a computer. She said she just got a recorded message saying the council was closed.

She said: “I think it’s discrimination.”

Jason West, from the Park District, said he was left feeling ‘a bit miffed’.

He said: “I don’t think it’s fair.”

He added: “I typed passwords in but it didn’t work. I’m just baffled.”

Nikki Taylor from Weymouth was trying to apply for tickets so that she and her sisters, Michelle 15, and Louise 12, could see their sister Danielle, 10, perform in the Moving Tides performance.

She added: “Louise really wanted to go and Michelle really wanted to go and see Wretch 32 (pictured left) We’re really gutted.”

She said she tried any password on the website but said nothing seemed to work.

She said: “I’m frustrated and angry, really.”

Borough Council spokesman for Leisure and Culture, Councillor Ian Bruce said: “Due to the sheer volume of people visiting the booking page there was a technical issue where some users were shown a password protected page before the booking form itself.

“We apologise for this problem.”

He added: “The phone line was available from 8am and calls were taken from people applying for tickets but unfortunately, instead of a ‘lines are busy’ holding message being given to customers while they waited for their call to be answered, a message saying the office was closed was given out instead.

“We do apologise for any confusion this caused.”

He added that although some people had missed out on wristbands there would be plenty of chances to see the torch as it travelled through the borough on Thursday and Friday.