Designer's joy at seeing guitar on Glasto stage

A guitar maker said he could not believe it when one of his creations was played on Glastonbury's main stage by a Guns N'Roses star.

Neil Ivison was approached on social media to make the instrument for guitarist Richard Fortus.

The rock group were Saturday's headline act and Mr Ivison, from Bromyard, said he leapt off the sofa when he watched the performance from home.

"I don't really know what to make of it," he said. "It's still sinking in."

Mr Ivison opened his Worcestershire workshop in 2018 after a career as a professional guitarist.

"It’s a passion that’s turned into a job really rather than a day job," he said. "Guitars have always been my passion."

He travelled to Bath on Friday to deliver the guitar he had crafted for Fortus and said he was "chuffed" with his reaction.

"He said he loved it," Mr Ivison said. "He said, 'I really want to play this tomorrow night'."

However afraid of "jinxing" it, Mr Ivison did not expect to really see it when he tuned into the festival coverage on Saturday night.

"My wife and I were sat in front of the telly, Guns N' Roses came on and we were watching and then lo and behold second song in he uses the guitar I built for him," he said.

"We’d leapt off the settee, the drinks went flying, and then just sat there in disbelief for the rest of the gig."

He said Fortus planned to play the instrument for the rest of the tour and had invited him to the band's upcoming gig in Hyde Park.

To see his creation on such a huge platform was a proud moment for Mr Ivison who said: "I work on my own in a workshop, it’s the culmination of years of graft."