Police in Gloucestershire Constabulary shut down an illegal rave early on Sunday morning in the Forest of Dean, arresting two of the partygoers on drug charges.
Officers broke up the illegal rave, removed sound equipment, and shut off local roads in order to prevent more ravers from attending the party in the forest.
“Police were called to the Speculation Car Park near Lydbrook and Parkend during the early hours of this morning (Sunday 2 August) and have been dispersing the group to ensure the event does not continue and that those attending leave as safely as possible,” the police force said in a statement.
“The road closures were as a result of intelligence which had been developed and identified that many of those attending were from outside the county which allowed officers to target key roads that the individuals would have used to attend,” the statement added.
The Gloucestershire Constabulary said that in the course of shutting down the rave, they arrested two people for drug driving and seized two cars.
In the United Kingdom any gathering of 20 or more people “on land in the open air” with music “that includes sounds wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats” that may cause “serious distress to the inhabitants of the locality” is considered an illegal rave.
The rave was also illegal under the coronavirus regulations which prohibit public mass gatherings — although the police in the UK have thus far refused to enforce these laws against the Black Lives Matter demonstrations that have been taking place for months.
With the closure of nightclubs and other late-night venues, there has been an increasing number of so-called pop-up raves across the United Kingdom.
In June, club promoter James Morsh said that the country is going through a “summer of rave” akin to the rave movement of the late 1980s and ’90s, suggesting that “socially starved” young people are flocking to the parties to unleash their pent up energy.
The editor of DJ Mag, Carl Loben, said that he has been attending raves continually over the past 25 years, remarking that the organisers of the events have always prided themselves on the idea that “there was always something happening, despite the legislation”.
Loben suggested that the government permit legal and socially distanced outdoor parties in order to prevent illegal raves from occurring.
“Otherwise there is going to be a plethora of illegal events springing up, organised by people with little or no experience, while there’s a whole raft of experienced promoters sitting around at home with nothing to do,” he said.
“The lockdown and continuing lack of opportunities to dance to loud music together safely could lead to a summer a bit similar to one of the Summers of Love in the late ’80s. But there’s the danger that some of these events will produce more of a Summer of Chaos, unless the issue is addressed,” he warned.
The illegal raves have already resulted in some level of chaos throughout the country, with reports of rape, stabbings, fatal shootings, and drug overdoses marring the revelry.
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