Thousands make their pitch for Glastonbury

MORE than 15,000 people have started setting up camp at this year’s Glastonbury Festival, police said yesterday.

Thousands of music lovers turned up at the site in Pilton, Somerset, in preparation for the music event, which starts tomorrow.

Organisers Glastonbury Festival Ltd said around 25,000 will be on site by this morning and 150,000 will be there by the weekend to see acts such as Radiohead, REM, Manic Street Preachers and Moby.

The event is expected to attract hundreds of Irish music fans over the weekend.

A Avon and Somerset Police spokesman said: “A lot of people are coming on site and pitching their tents in a good spot and then leaving the site again. There’s a lot of coming and going.”

Police were mounting the largest ever security operation at the festival, with around 750 uniformed police and support staff on site, as well as extra CCTV. A help-point has also been set up in the village to give locals a point of contact for any complaints or worries.

Chief Superintendent Mark Thompson said: “Resources for this year’s operation have considerably increased and we are hoping to build on the excellent results of last year.

“We are doing everything we can to make the festival as safe as possible for everybody attending to enjoy.”