TENS of thousands of revellers gritted their teeth against the weather to party until dawn at the annual Global Gathering at Long Marston airfield.

Some of the biggest names in dance music travelled from across the world for the event, which attracted an estimated 35,000 people last Saturday.

Despite a ticket price of £45, nobody seemed greatly disappointed by the unrelenting rain that soon turned the site into a slippery mud bath.

Many partygoers had created dazzling and colourful costumes for the evening but by the end of the night many were clad in a uniform coating of brown.

Organisers had aimed to recreate Ibiza's Bora Bora Beach and had shipped in 3,000 tonnes of white sand. However, after the rain had done its work the site more closely resembled Weston-super-Mare than the Balearic Islands.

People came to the Global Gathering from all over the World. When away from the decibels of the dance-floors, it was possible to hear accents and languages from dozens of countries.

Thousands came from closer to home. Marina McGeoghan, Kay Nicholls and Sam Graves had driven down from Birmingham for the night. Despite their best dancing clothes being splattered with mud, they all agreed that the weather had not spoiled their evening. Sam said: "It is fantastic - the atmosphere is so good and everybody is buzzing on it. It is not the weather that makes an event like this - it is the people."

Sam Warner of Bretforton said she spent most of her evening in the Helter Skelter arena listening to some of the biggest names in the drum and bass scene. "It was a great night - everyone was having a great laugh even though it was raining. I ruined my fluffy boots in the mud but that didn't really matter. It was fab to be able to see so many top DJs and MCs so close to home."

Warwickshire police spokesperson Sarah Dunn said: "There were only three arrests, which considering that there were 35,000 people on the site is amazing. We were also pleased with the traffic situation and with the success of our drugs amnesty at the gate."