V Festival, Chemsford and Weston Park
Smile, it's only some festival rain and mud
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Your support makes all the difference.There may have been too much rain and mud, and not enough sun, but nothing could drag down the mood at the V-Festival, which ended last night.
Morrissey and Radiohead headlined on the final night of the two-day festival, which attracted more than 130,000 fans to the two sites, Chelmsford in Essex and Weston Park in Staffordshire.
In Chelmsford, many in the crowd donned wellies to wade through the mud brought about by heavy rain on Saturday. By yesterday, the rain had gone, but the wet-weather wear, now an essential part of the festival fashion wardrobe, stayed.
An eclectic line-up ensured a mixed crowd. Teenagers wearing baby doll dresses and oversized glasses mixed with die-hard indie fans.
A smattering of celebrities included Wayne Rooney's fiancée Coleen McLoughlin, Jamie Oliver, Elizabeth Jagger and Peaches Geldof.
One festival-goer, Lucy Campbell, 32, a personal assistant from Battersea, south London, said: "We've been wading about in our wellies but it hasn't stopped the fun. The festival attracts a much more mixed crowd than others I've been to."
A surprise hit were Girls Aloud, who were relegated to a marquee away from the main stage, but attracted more fans than the tent could hold. "People were literally fighting to get in," a festival-goer said. "They had barriers up and after a while people started to get angry breaking down the fences."
Other acts included Hard-Fi, Razorlight, Kasabian, Lily Allen, the Sugababes, The Divine Comedy and Keane.
Police said a large quantity of illegal substances and "vast" amounts of cash had been seized from suspected drug dealers at the festival.
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