VOLUNTEERS at Rhythms of the World have been working around the clock to get the Priory grounds back to their original state.

This picture shows the effect the weather had on the venue, when thousands of people turned out to the world music festival.

But festival organisers are upbeat, and believe that getting the grounds back to normal will be feasible.

Cath Cole, head of communications, said: “They aren’t looking as bad as some might think and general manager Thierry Viatge and his team at Hitchin Priory have been amazingly supportive.

“We don’t have an estimate for how much it will cost to get grounds back to their original condition yet, but we always build in some funds to deal with this and nature has an amazing way of working its magic.”

The de-rigging of the festival by volunteers is expected to finish this week.

“The crew were exhausted from a difficult last few days’ build and contending with the weather over the festival weekend. Some people who had volunteered to help with the de-rig weren’t able to lend a hand in the end.

“We simply didn’t have enough people on site to finish the job in five days, with the weather as it was, as we had hoped.”

She added: “That said, the morale of the team that have been on site has been amazing and the bulk of the work was completed by Friday. People have taken extra time off from their day jobs, really buckled down and done loads more than we should be able to expect of them, showing their real passion for the festival and the charity.”

Rhythms of the World saw 800 volunteers lend their support throughout the year, but festival organisers say they could do with even more.

“It would be fantastic to recruit a team of freshly energetic people who could come along for the de-rig and support the existing crew,” said Cath.

“We’ll be approaching local groups and organisations as we start planning for RotW 2013, but if anyone is interested now, email volunteers@rotw.org.uk.”