T in the Park: From Madchester to Mudchester, revellers party on

REVELLERS at T in the Park made it to the finishing line last night, despite having suffered a soaking on Saturday that threatened to turn the music festival into a wash-out.

The site was reduced to a quagmire by continual torrential rain throughout the day into early evening, forcing the temporary closure of the Slam Tent during the day, which normally hosts dance acts.

Festival regulars declared the weather to have been the worst the event had seen since its move to the Balado site in Kinross-shire in 1997.

Organiser Geoff Ellis said the site staff worked overnight, laying wood chip and gravel in areas, including the main stage, while drainage trenches were dug in the King Tut’s Wah Wah tent to remove some of the worst flooding.

“We were prepared and our team worked extremely hard to keep things on track, which was no mean feat,” he said. “The overwhelming response from those that were here was that, regardless of the rain, they had an absolutely amazing time.”

The campsite was badly hit by the weather, and the organisers brought in supplies of tents, sleeping bags and equipment for those whose supplies had been swamped.

The on-site medical team reported that during the weekend 554 people visited the hospital tent, 1,038 presented themselves at first aid and 25 people were taken to hospital off site.

Bob MacGregor, head of medical services, said : “There has been a rise in the number of visits to first aid, but this can mostly be attributed to people who wanted to come in and warm up yesterday.

“Our hospital has so far seen less people than the year before with the majority of treatment medically-related.”

The rain finally abated as legendary Manchester band the Stone Roses took the main stage on Saturday evening for its first Scottish performance.

ARRESTS

Tayside Police reported that up until 11am, they had made a total of 26 arrests, a small rise over this point last year.

Superintendent Rick Dunkerley, Event Commander, paid tribute to the tens of thousands of T in the Park fans for their behaviour.

‘‘We have taken great encouragement from the positive attitude of everyone at this year’s event,” he said. “I think it’s fair to say that the conditions have been challenging for them but they have refused to let anything dampen their enthusiasm. Their attitude has been terrific and has ensured that we are all enjoying another excellent T in the Park festival.

“Our traditional community engagement style of policing, complemented by a no nonsense proactive approach to searching for illegal drugs has led to a small rise in the number of arrests as compared to the same time last year, as well as an increase in detection rates.

“Low level crime accounts for the majority of incidents and drugs offences for about 75 per cent of all crime.”

FIRST AID

The onsite medical team reported that 554 people visited the hospital tent, 1038 present at first aid and 25 people had taken to hospital offsite.

The rise in number of visits over the last was said to have been as a result of yesterday’s poor weather.

Bob MacGregor, head of Onsite Medical Services, added: “There has been a rise in the number of visits to First Aid but this can mostly be attributed to people who wanted to come in and warm up yesterday. Our hospital has so far seen less people than the year before with the majority of treatment medically-related.”