One arrest as police use ‘practical and safe’ approach to illegal rave

ONLY one person was arrested by police despite as many as 400 people turning up to an illegal rave in a Welsh forest, police have confirmed.

The gathering took place in a forest east of Llandovery in Carmarthenshire over the weekend of March 26 and 27.

The event, which drew people from all over Wales and England, started in the early hours of Sunday morning and went on until Sunday afternoon.

Police arrived at the scene early on Sunday and closed off entrances to the site – a disused quarry at Halfway Forestry – to stop more people from turning up and taking part in the rave.

As is common practice with such events, police did not order revellers to leave immediately, preferring instead to manage the situation with a “practical and safe approach” which saw officers use a policy of containment.

Despite hundreds of people attending what the police referred to as an illegal gathering, only one arrest was made, with a 22-year-old man from the Cornwall area being arrested on suspicion of drug driving. He has since been bailed pending further inquiries.

Dyfed-powys Police is now working with partner agencies to review Sunday’s rave and try to prevent other raves from taking place in the force area, with the Easter bank holiday weekend just over two weeks away. Four years ago, in May, 2018, a large rave broke out in another Carmarthenshire forest in the Brechfa area. On that occasion, thousands of people were believed to have attended an illegal gathering that ran over a bank holiday weekend – from Saturday night to Monday morning.

Inspector Dawn Fencott-price, of Dyfed-powys Police, said: “We were able to take prompt action to prevent this rave getting bigger and going on for longer because people in the area notified us in a timely manner, allowing us to take a practical and safe approach to dealing with it. They are our eyes and ears, and I would urge anyone with concerns or suspicions about such gatherings in future to contact us with information.

“We know raves can cause anxiety to the community they are held in, and if not dealt with swiftly, are difficult to stop due to the sheer numbers of people involved. Considerable time and money is often needed to clean up afterwards too.”