Police move to shut illegal rave
By BBC News
Copyright: BBC News
Up to a 100 police officers moved in to shut down an illegal rave in Essex over the weekend.
The party-goers drove in formation around Colchester, communicating via text messages until details of the event became known.
The hundreds of cars were led in convoy down the A12 towards the rave in a method designed to outwit the police.
By midnight the ravers had occupied a disused warehouse in Chelmsford.
One of the group said: “Every Pulse 8 I come to, I have a good time. It only costs me a couple of quid to get in. All the other big clubs charge £15 to get in. All we’re doing is having a good time.”
Another raver said: “We’re our own police here, we don’t need the police. We were stopped by the police and I couldn’t understand why. It’s just to stop us having a good time.”
The event was run without Health and Safety approval, and without a public entertainment licence.
One of the organisers, Matt said: “I was just driving around and the building was open. I saw it from the side of the road where they cut the hole in the wall, and I thought it was perfect.
“I had a peek in here. It just had rave written all over it. We’ve got all these people together to come and enjoy themselves to dance music, and this is what it’s about.”
The police arrived at 3am to break the party up. Inspector Tony Dale said: “What’s happened this evening is that the group known as Pulse 8 have held another, technically it is an unlicenced public event, popularly known as a rave.
“We’ve been around the building with the fire safety officers. They’ve advised us that the building is wholly unsafe for what it’s being used for.”
The police requested that the organisers close the rave down, which they did. They are are now considering whether to bring charges. The ravers say they cannot wait until the next time.
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