POLICE SHUT DOWN ILLEGAL RAVE

A RAVE was broken up by police after revellers gathered at a disused
farm in East Anglia.

The event, organised by Pulse-8, was originally due to take place at a
farm in Copford, near Colchester, but was cancelled after the
landowner withdrew his permission.

Pulse-8 said it had tried to work with police and council officials to
find a new site that was suitable for the event, but claimed officials
did not want the event to take place anywhere.

On Saturday night, ravers met at the Tesco car park in Ipswich and
moved on to the disused Catley's Farm in Bures, on the Essex-Suffolk
border.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said officers had been alerted by reports
of loud music and vehicles blocking a road shortly after midnight.

She said about 200 people were at the farm in a field and police
attended, shut the event down and oversaw the people leaving. No
arrests were made and everyone had gone by 4.50am yesterday.

Pulse-8 spokesman Matt Moore said another party would be held and it
was hoped a compromise could be reached with police and the council.

He added: "At the end of the day we were forced into this situation.
We said we would have a party whatever and they could have worked with
us, but they didn't.

"I am not aware of any noise complaints. I feel the police had to go
through with it (shutting the rave) because they had said they were
going to, but it still didn't end until 4.30am.

"We will have another party and we hope the authorities will sit down
and talk with us about it, but if they won't, another party will
happen anyway."

Last year a rave at a farm in Copford drew complaints about noise from
six miles away. The event, which between 700 and 1,000 people
attended, lasted from 8.30pm on a Saturday until 6.30am the following
day.

In July last year a similar event in Little Dunmow ended in five
arrests after officers closed it down.

In the same month, a Stebbing farmer called police to stop an
all-night rave in his grain shed only to be told they could not halt
the event. About 350 people were dancing to loud music in the farmer's
grain shed.