Glastonbury 2016: Half a million rubbish bags collected in major clean-up of apocalyptic Worthy Farm

Festival-goers have been leaving the site after Coldplay closed the weekend on Sunday

The great Glastonbury get-away and clean-up has begun, with campers packing up their tents and leaving Worthy Farm looking depressingly apocalyptic.

Tonnes of debris are left behind each year from the 135,000 festival-goers. The organisers hire 1,800 litter pickers to scour the 1,000-acre site, with the Glastonbury Free Press estimating that 500,000 bin-bags of rubbish, 57 tonnes of reusable items and 1,022 tonnes of recycling will be collected.

Muddy conditions have been delaying the journey home for many, as cars and camper-vans get stuck and queues begin to build.

The AA is expecting the busiest day of the festival on the roads, with tractor and tow crews on hand in case of further travel chaos. Thousands of festival-goers were forced to wait in traffic jams for up to 11 hours when the gates opened last Wednesday.

People have been warned to prepare for the worst, with the organisers advising: “If your vehicle has a towing eye, please attach this ready for possible towing.” Traffic is reportedly flowing well once vehicles have left the site.

This year’s Glastonbury was headlined by Muse, Adele and Coldplay, with the latter band bringing on festival founder Michael Eavis for a performance of “My Way” by Frank Sinatra. Bee Gees singer Barry Gibb also joined the British group, who paid tribute to late band Viola Beach by performing their song “Boys That Sing”.

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union left the many campers who voted remain feeling disillusioned on Friday morning. Bastille, Ellie Goulding, Madness, Coldplay and James were among the acts to address the Brexit vote and rally festival-goers to “take the spirit of Glastonbury home with them”.

Early reports from Avon and Somerset Police suggest that Glastonbury 2016 could be set for the lowest crime rate in its history, with the majority of arrests made for drug offences.

Additional reporting from Press Association