Glastonbury Festival: Traffic management 'fell short of acceptable standards'

Glastonbury Festival boss Michael Eavis admitted things had been "chaotic" because of heavy rain

Traffic management around the site of the 2016 Glastonbury Festival "fell short of acceptable standards", a council report has found.

The event in June saw the area's roads gridlocked with many people stuck in their vehicles for up to 12 hours.

A report by Mendip District Council said the "overwhelming issue" was there was nowhere to park campervans when site access became problematic.

Organisers blamed heavy rain prior to the event for the disruption.

Festival boss Michael Eavis admitted it had been "chaotic" but said 4in (10cm) of rain in three days before the event was "an impossible situation for a greenfield site".

He said: "Next year I've secured the use of the Bath and West [showground] for any emergencies - and we can do park-and-ride from there.

"It is tough when all the roads are blocked, it's hard work for people and I really regret that happening, I really do.

"But it's only once in 10 years that we get that problem."

Festival goers were met by thick mud as they headed to the camping areas

The report noted although the event was "well planned and managed", rain in the lead up to the event caused a "serious deterioration" to ground conditions on site.

It said the festival delayed opening access to the camping fields by six hours to allow the site to further dry out.

But this affected the access of caravans and campervans on to the site which then resulted in substantial traffic jams.

The traffic built up on the Tuesday evening and was not fully resolved until late Wednesday and caused "significant disruption" to residents, businesses and others passing through the area.