Glastonbury Festival organisers were today dumping tonnes of straw and bark onto the ground in a bid to combat the boggy conditions.
A week of wet weather has saturated the 1,100-acre site and turned large areas into a huge bog with mud up to eight inches deep.
Revellers were woken in the early hours of yesterday morning by torrential rain beating down on their tents.
To improve conditions underfoot, workmen in tractors were yesterday laying tonnes of straw and bark on the ground.
But the rain and mud failed to dampen the spirits of the festival-goers – who took turns to dance and dive through the mire.
Chris Darch, 24, from London, said: ”It bucketed down with rain at about 5am and made the site look like the Battle of the Somme.
”It’s not what we wanted but everyone seems to be making the best of it.
”The kids are playing in the puddles, the adults are dancing in it and one mad lad even performed a dive through the mud.”
A total of 177,000 revellers are expected to attend the festival, which gets underway in ernest tomorrow when the music starts on the main stages.
U2, Morrissey and Biffy Clyro will take to the famed Pyramid Stage as the festival gets into full swing.
Coldplay will headline the main stage on Saturday night and Beyonce on Sunday.
Acts appearing on other stages include Chipmunk, Chase and Status and Primal Scream.
Avon and Somerset Police said 36 arrests were made on Wednesday – the opening day – for a variety of offences including possession of drugs, theft and assault.
A quantity of drugs, some believed to be Class A substances and legal highs, were recovered and taken away for examination.
Inspector Chris Morgan said: ”We are pleased with the way the festival has been going so far.
”It is early days but reported crime is lower than the same time last year but our proactive patrols have made a higher number of arrests – demonstrating our determination to ensure that all festival goers have a safe and happy time here – despite the mud.”