Festival clean-up under way

Volunteers have begun the clean-up operation after more than 90,000 people attended Reading Festival.

Hundreds of artists performed across nine arenas at Little John's Farm near Caversham Bridge for the town's annual music festival.

Elisa Miles, chair of the Warren and District Residents' Association said she had been helping clean up at the festival for the last 13 years.

Ms Miles said: "Everything we collect goes to fundraise for the residents' association's other initiatives or we give to Pakistan flood victims, Ukraine... we give what we can."

Volunteers will spend the next week cleaning up after the festival which featured Blink-182, Fred Again and Liam Gallagher.

Ms Miles said there are usually "around 60 people who volunteer" and this year they are donating towels to Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue.

She said: "We are donating to them because they need towels for animal rescues.

"It all goes to good places, every year."

Despite Reading Borough Council encouraging attendees to steer away from single-use plastics and to take their tents home, discarded sleeping bags and tents have repeatedly been a problem after the festival ends.

Ms Miles said she thought fewer tents had been left this year.

"Many, many more people are taking their tents home or are packing them up and putting them in the recycling, reclaiming areas and the same thing with food."

She explained that there is "still a lot of garbage left" and other items including tins of food, air beds, clothing and welly boots.

"It's getting better, we work really hard to improve all aspects of the festival every year but you can only do so much," she said.

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