Police close down illegal rave underneath railway line
Police have closed down an illegal rave underneath a railway line.
Around 200 revellers gathered in a cutting underneath the main Bath to Bristol railway line at Newton St Loe, near Bath, Somerset last night.
Avon and Somerset Police said that as more people arrived the revellers spread over the train tracks - with obvious danger to themselves and railway staff.
A police operation was launched to shut the rave down, which was made especially difficult due to the location, weather conditions and difficulty of access.
They were able to secure the site at 5am and served a closure notice to disperse the crowd and ensure safety. The site was cleared by 6am.
Meanwhile, a second rave was taking place in Oldbury-on-Severn, South Gloucestershire, involving around 60 people.
The rave had been advertised on social media and a closure noticed served on the organisers with the sound system seized. By 5.10am the site had been cleared.
Superintendent Chris Weigold, of Avon and Somerset Police, said: "We are grateful to the local community for their support in identifying both events at an early stage so that we could take direct action.
"It is always challenging to manage large numbers of people in the dark, in the rain and in the mud especially near railway lines or close to the seashore but on this occasion we were able to act swiftly on the information provided by residents, to stop the disturbance promptly.
"Such incidents have to be judged on the specific circumstances at the time and even though we had a large presence of officers at the festival in Glastonbury, we were able to bring together appropriate resources, including colleagues from British Transport Police, to stop the disturbance and direct those present to leave.
"The seized equipment will allow the opportunity for enforcement action to be progressed against the organisers."
