GLASTONBURY Festival is finally back, and this year Reg Barker, a window cleaner and nurse, from Crediton, is packing his wellies and leaving his home comforts to head to Worthy Farm to volunteer for international charity WaterAid as part of the festival’s Loo Crew.

While others are twisting and shouting with Paul McCartney and “coming out” to dance to Diana Ross, Reg will be looking after Glastonbury’s most important seats – by keeping the long-drop toilets clean and the handwashing facilities well stocked.

As well as helping make the festival experience even more enjoyable for the revellers, the worthy team of WaterAid volunteers will also raise awareness of the millions of people who are denied access to clean water and decent toilets, and how climate change is making life even harder.

Reg said: “Having supported WaterAid for many years, I’m really pleased to have been selected to represent them at Glastonbury, and excited to be heading to the legendary festival after the two-year hiatus.

“Whether it’s queuing for a drink, waiting to use a toilet, or not being as clean as they’d like, it’s the ideal place for people to start to understand what it might be like for the millions of people who don’t have access to clean water or toilets.

“One in five people across the world don’t have access to a decent toilet and this is only set to get worse with the threat of climate change.

“Extreme weather like flooding and rising sea levels is destroying infrastructure and contaminating water supplies, while droughts dry out springs and wells.

“I’ll be inviting festival-goers to support WaterAid’s Climate Fight and join the call for everyone, everywhere to have clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene whatever the weather.”

Come rain, shine, or mud, Reg will complete shifts of six hours-a-day – the same amount of time many, mostly women and girls, in the developing world spend collecting water.

Volunteers will also be inviting festival goers to send one of WaterAid’s limited edition specially-designed postcards to the UK Government calling for them to lead the way in ensuring everyone has clean water they can rely on to protect themselves against the impacts of extreme weather, wherever they live.

WaterAid has been a charity partner of Glastonbury since 1994, supporting water and sanitation services and highlighting its work to provide clean water and sanitation to the 771 million people living without clean water and the 1.7 billion with nowhere safe to go to the toilet.

This year, there will be a record number of 718 WaterAid volunteers at the renowned festival, providing water, collecting rubbish for recycling and cleaning the toilets.