AN ARMY of drugs and alcohol advice specialists have more than doubled their numbers for this year's festival.
See our V Festival section hereCharity Open Road will operate in every campsite, as opposed to simply beneath 'The Chill Out Tent' in the arena, as the numbers of people using legal highs soars.
"This is our biggest operation by far – I've been thinking about this for three months," said 25-year-old Wayne Powell, who despite usually coordinating Colchester's nighttime SOS bus service on weekend nights, will head-up the 85-strong V Festival team.
He added: "It was so hot last year. We found that people were actually leaving the main arena to go back to their tent to have a lie down and so we couldn't provide our service.
"The weather plays the biggest part. If you have drugs and alcohol and it's hot then the effects are going to be worse.
"This year, I don't know what to expect, it depends on the weather."
Mr Powell, who started working with the NHS when he was 18, advises festival-goers to keep hydrated, wear appropriate clothing, apply sun cream and not to drink too much alcohol.
"We encourage people not to take drugs to the festival, and not to take drugs at all, but if people are taking drugs, do not take them from people they don't know," said the ex-healthcare assistant.
"Legal highs are becoming a bigger problem and that is causing the most deaths. They are readily available and can be very dangerous. They often appear in bright coloured packages to make them popular with young people."
Open Road, which boasts 11 centres across East Anglia and more than 290 staff, specialise in providing counselling and family support.
At V Festival, Open Road, who will visit for their eighth year, will offer comfortable seating for revellers to chill out.
