Raving lunatics
Hundreds of unmasked partygoers wreak havoc in Pego marshes
Hundreds of unmasked partygoers wreak havoc in Pego marshes
A GIANT RAVE party in the Pego marshes lasting until 11.00 on Sunday morning could land nearly 200 revellers with fines of up to € 60,000 a head.
Nearly everyone was unmasked, and social distancing was non- existent.
What the organisers claimed was a ' small birthday party which got out of hand' led to calls from sleep- deprived residents in the early hours and 15 of the 35 cars on site being found to have no insurance, ITV or registration plates.
And the partygoers were not just local – they had come from as far afield as Albacete, Zaragoza, Bilbao and even Vigo in Galicia, nearly 1,000 kilometres from Pego.
The rave was right in the heart of the Pego- Oliva Marjal, off the Camí Marjals – close to the Muntanyeta Verda lookout point – and would have been totally illegal at any time, given that the noise and huge presence of humans were extremely unsettling for the rare birds and other species that live and breed peacefully in the 300- acre wetland.
Locals spending the summer in their country cottages, cabins and caravans say the crowds began to gather at around 23.00, and by about 03.00 the din was so unbearable they called the police.
fficers ordered the group of almost 200 people to stop the party and leave immediately. But as soon as authorities moved on, they turned the music back up.
“Eight vans, 20- odd cars and two camper- vans”
Guardia Civil patrol cars were stationed at every exit from the wetlands by daylight, although several vehicles left the scene via the ' back door', driving straight over orange groves, to avoid being breathalysed.
Police said ' the majority' of drivers stopped tested negative for alcohol.
Seeing authorities at the roadside, many of the ravers, who had not been wearing masks all night, put theirs on to drive home.
“We counted about eight vans, 20- odd cars and two camper- vans,” officers said afterwards.
Of these, 15 cars were found to either have no registration plates, no valid insurance, or an out- of- date ITV sticker.
Cheeky revellers leaving on foot even asked the police for drinking water, saying theirs had run out.
At around 09.30, a woman was seen entering the area by car and said she had arrived to collect her son, who ' was supposed to be at a First Communion ceremony' that morning.
About six partygoers were still on site at 13.00.
Even the mayor, Enrique Moll, had rushed out to the scene to help with the evacuation. He managed to trace the landowner, an elderly man who had been unaware of the incident and had not given anyone permission to enter his plot – but admitted that ' maybe his children' had been behind it.
“What's all the fuss about?”
“We had just planned a small birthday party with about 15 or so friends, but messages started going round social media and people kept turning up, and it got out of hand,” said those who are believed to have been the organisers.
One young man said: “We can't understand what all the fuss is about. It was a private party and we weren't bothering anyone.”
A young woman who had travelled down from Madrid said: “We respected the environment, we left everything clean and tidy – you won't even find one cigarette end there.”
She and others from hundreds of kilometres away said they found out about the party via WhatsApp groups.