After five days of partying and music, revellers have abandoned camp at Worthy Farm

After five days of partying and music, revellers have abandoned camp at Worthy Farm, leaving in their wake mountains of plastic waste, tents and laughing gas canisters.

Volunteers and clean-up crews have begun the painstaking task of picking up thousands of discarded items following Glastonbury Festival.

The field at the farm will be cleaned inch-by-inch over the next few hours so it can once again be grazed by cows.

Before attendees headed out, festival staff reminded them to 'love the farm' and 'leave no trace'.

'When you're packing up your tent, please put your rubbish in the bin bags provided by campsite stewards and take home all of your belongings to use again next time!' the festival posted on Twitter.

Glastonbury was founded in 1970 and has historically been a very 'green' event. The festival prides itself in trying to 'lead the charge in sustainable living' and for 'spreading the word to Festival-goers about what will really make a difference to the environment'.

Despite the eco pledge, celebrity attendees including Laura Whitmore and Rita Ora departed the site by private helicopter.

Cleanup operations have begun at Glastonbury after crowds left a sea of rubbish in front of the main pyramid stage and camping fields.

Pictures taken this morning of the site showed a sea of rubbish, plastic bags, tents - and laughing gas canisters - left by festival-goers after five days of partying.

Hundreds of litter-pickers have already cleared the pyramid stage area inch-by-inch - creating an amazing contrast to pictures taken just hours before.

Event co-organiser Emily Eavis revealed the cleanup operation can cost as much as £500,000 to restore the site to its original state each year.

It is estimated that over 2,000 tonnes of waste - nearly 10kg per visitor - is left behind at each festival every year.

However, last year 99 per cent of tents were taken home by revellers, with the salvageable going to homeless charities.

Over 200,000 revellers flocked to the 800-acre Worthy Farm site near Pilton, Somerset, between Wednesday and Sunday.

Notable acts this year included Sir Elton John, the Arctic Monkeys, Maisie Peters, Guns n' Roses, Lewis Capaldi and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.