'I was stuck in Glastonbury mosh pit with death chants and fake blood - it was a cess-pit'

It was only when shuffling away from the West Holts stage in a throng of people after two hours of mayhem, that I noticed - on first glance - what looked like blood.

It was smeared on people’s hair, over their clothes and across the acres of bare flesh which was on display in the sweltering afternoon sun.

Amid the chaos of Bob Vylan then Kneecap’s controversy-rich sets, I’d failed to see what I’m told was a fire extinguisher filled with red-paint going off.

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Quite how this was smuggled into Glastonbury past security is anyone’s guess.

Normally a stunt such as this - a hallmark of Palestine Action although it’s not known if they were behind it - would have grabbed all the headlines.

But even this was overshadowed by the extraordinary scenes which preceded it, including chants during Vylan’s set of “Death, death to the IDF.”

I should know….because I was at the heart of the action.

Over the course of two and a half hours, that little part of Worthy Farm became a snarling cess-pit of hate.

Towards Sir Keir Starmer, towards the BBC…and mainly, towards Israel.

I was half-expecting the crowd to be predominantly young…but as I stood wedged just a few metres from the stage, all ages were represented.

A man in his 60s is wearing a Free Mo Chara T-shirt, while an old lady next to me is draped in Palestinian flags.

I assume they’d arrived early long before Kneecap performed to secure a good spot.

Glastonbury bosses had warned that morning that they may have to close off access to the West Holts area because of over-crowding.

But as soon as Bob Vylan’s set began, it became obvious that his act was exactly the aperitif that the febrile crowd craved.

But given the levels of controversy it could easily have been the main course.

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“We are live on the BBC, so we have to be careful what we say,” said Vylan.

But being careful was not on the agenda as he began a spine-tingling chant calling for the murder of the Israel Defence Force.

The face of the old lady next to me is contorted with rage as she chants along.

Vylan then launches into a rant decrying the music industry figures who had written to Glastonbury bosses calling for Kneecap to be banned including his former “bald headed c***” of a boss.

“Name him, name him,” menacingly chant the crowd back.

If Glastonbury wanted to stir the crowd up ahead of Kneecap, then scheduling Vylan as the preceding act did just that.

By the time the Irish band arrived and looked out at a sea of Palestinian flags, the atmosphere was super-charged.

Things escalated quickly.

In reference to his bandmate's Chara’s upcoming court date, Moglai Bap urged fans to "start a riot outside the courts".

Perhaps someone off stage had a word in his ear as shortly after there was a hasty u-turn.

"No riots, just love and support, and support for Palestine,” he backtracked.

There were not one but five foul-mouthed chants aimed at the Prime Minister who had called for Michael Eavis to drop the band.

To hear a large proportion of the 30,000-strong crowd berating a Labour politician was a Glastonbury first given its ties to the party.

“You’re just a s*** Jeremy Corbyn,” said Chara, referencing the former leader’s very different reception here in 2017.

The crowd were lapping it up. Flares were constantly going off, as was the fire extinguisher, somewhere behind me.

The BBC have pledged to make Kneecap’s set available on iplayer but will ensure it will be edited first to “meet editorial guidelines.”

They’ll have quite the job….

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