V Festival at Weston Park off to a muddy start

Heavy rain meant the ground has already been churned up as festival goers braced themselves for a weekend of showers and downpours.

Many made early starts in a bid to try to beat the worst of the traffic and bag the best camping spots once the gates opened at 9am.

Up to 95,000 people are expected to descend on the festival. But weather forecasters have warned it will be a muddy affair, with showers expected throughout the day tomorrow.

Temperatures will hit highs of 21C (68F) and sun is expected to peak through the clouds, with the Weston Park site faring better than its twin site at Chelmsford.

This year's line up will boast Kings of Leon, who will headline the festival on Saturday, and Beyonce who will bring the festival to a close on Sunday. Other acts appearing over the weekend include The Vaccines, Emile Sande, The Saturdays, Katy B and McFly.

Excited revellers needed their rain macs and wellies this morning, while many dragged wheelbarrows and carts through the mud.

Adam Routley and Kirsty Armour, both from Wolverhampton, were among those to arrive early at the site, complete with raincoats and big bags. The pair are doing the festival in style this year and are staying in the V Style area.

"We decided to do V in style this year," said Kirsty, aged 26, who works as an accountant in Telford. "We got here early because we wanted to beat the traffic.

"We left Wolverhampton at 7.15am this morning and it still took us around an hour and 45 minutes. I am most looking forard to seeing Beyonce."

Friends Joe Butler-Mills, Kyle Halpin and Jamie Smith, all from Birmingham, were also among the first through the gates.

Joe, aged 20, who works as a refuse collector said they had a good journey to Weston Park.

"There's a group of seven of us from Birmingham. It only took us 50 minutes to get here. We've left the girls behind you want to see how much they have brought," he said.

"They've brought it they can carry it. I'm most looking forward to seeing Rudimental. We got our tickets months ago."

One of the girls Grace Drisoll, aged 20, added: "I'm most looking forward to seeng Ellie Goulding and Beyonce. It's definitely worth camping in the rain. It's just the walk to the campsite that's the hardest. I already need a drink."

Alice Guest, aged 17, and Libby Nellany, also 17, both from Codsall, in Wolverhampton arrived at 5am. "We were determined to beat the queues," they said. "We can't wait to see Beyonce."

It was revealed earlier this week the festival is worth £6 million to the local economy of South Staffordshire.

Police have been working for months to draw up plans to tackle the traffic mayhem which accompanies the festival every year. Trading Standards officers are also on site on the look out for ticket touts, while licensing officers were monitoring noise levels. Police have also warned revellers car registration numbers will be checked on entry to the site to weed out known troublemakers, while drugs tests will be carried out and anyone found carrying illegal substances will be kicked out.

The heavy traffic brought trouble to the region's roads this morning as thousands made their way to the site.

V Festival organisers also took to Twitter and Facebook to warn people to take extra care on their journey to the festival due to the bad weather.

Heavy rain fell overnight and this morning. Salons from the Midlands will also be on site over the weekend to help peolpe stay looking good.

They will be offering manicures and hair treatments for those festival goers lucky enough to be in the VIP and glamping parts of the campsite.

An army of workers have been on Weston Park for more than a week setting up the giant stage ahead of the festival.

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See our four-page guide to V Festival in The Ticket today.