SO SOLID Crew have spoken out against the decision to cancel their UK tour, including a concert at Southampton Guildhall set for December 16.

The group's record company has issued a statement saying that they are "shocked at the draconian measures being employed to keep them from playing".

Although the tour has been cancelled in the wake of a number of violent incidents, speculation is rife that the tour has been called off due to lack of ticket sales.

A spokeswoman for Southamp-ton Guildhall said that they had only sold 216 tickets out of 1,700.

She said: "We were expecting it to sell out completely."

Anyone who bought tickets for the show should contact the Guildhall box office for a refund.

Oxide, a member of So Solid Crew, said: "We're disappointed that our fans can't come and see us. We wanted to give something back to them".

Inspector Vic Ettie, head of events planning for the city, said: "We had earmarked an inspector, a sergeant and six constables for the night but we were anticipating that we might need more."

"I'm sure my colleagues round the country are breathing a sigh of relief that it's been cancelled."