Festival organiser Michael Eavis last night insisted revellers travelling to Glastonbury will escape the muddy mayhem of previous years.

Forecasters warned persistent rain throughout the week guaranteed waterlogged scenes at Pilton for the second festival in succession.

But Mr Eavis said his Worthy Farm site, which has been drenched in sunshine all day, was fully prepared.

He was responding to a weather forecast from MeteoGroup UK, predicting between 60mm to 80mm (2.4in to 3.1in) of rain by the end of the week.

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Mr Eavis said the Met Office's weather centre had told him there would be long spells of dry weather over the weekend.

Mr Eavis, who has installed £750,000 worth of flood defences, said: "It has been beautifully clear all day and I think there will be a lot more sunshine.

"We have had a lot of work done to the site and are fully prepared.

"There are so many more covered stages and if we get the occasional shower - we are used to it."

A spokesman from the Exeter-based Met Office confirmed Glastonbury would be "unlucky" to experience mud baths on the scale of 2005.

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