Court: Man ordered to pay £1,185 for attending illegal rave

A BRISTOL man has been fined after attending an illegal rave with up to 4,000 people in the summer.

Ten defendants appeared at Swansea Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with gathering at the outdoor music event, in Banwen, over the August bank holiday weekend.

Following the illegal bash, the area was left scattered with ‘condoms, faeces, and broken glass’. At the time, groups larger than 30 people were banned.

The court heard Felix Devonport Blake, of Bragg’s Lane in St Philip’s, was driving a Ford Transit van when he was stopped by officers on August 30.

The 28-year-old has been ordered to pay a total of £1,185 consisting of a £1,000 fine, £85 in costs, and a £100 victim surcharge.

Carmel Cockings, prosecuting, told the court that the illegal rave took place at Walter’s Arena, an offroading area, and consisted of four separate stages each playing music.

She said: “Residents reported they were awake at 12.30am following noises of cars in the street. The music was unbearable and caused issues with residents unable to sleep. People were vomiting in the street and seen sleeping on cars.

“Residents of Banwen were left too scared to go out and they said ‘people were like zombies’. The area was left with condoms, faeces, and broken glass.”

District Judge Christopher James called many of the breaches of Covid restrictions “the height of social irresponsibility” and stated that the “risk of harm was high given the level of anti-social behaviour involved” over the course of the weekend.

He said the defendants had a “flagrant disregard” for coronavirus regulations at the time and their responsibility to follow rules.

Another Bristol resident, Jordan Louis Venus, of Belmont Road, was leaving the site at 8pm on August 30 when police identified him as a passenger in a Ford Transit van which contained “several electrical items”.

Hussain Hassan, defending, said his client arrived at the gathering after travelling in a friend’s car who said “they were going to a party” and “he was not aware of the scale of the event he found himself at”. The 25-year-old was ordered to pay a £600 fine, a £60 victim surcharge, and £85 costs.

Ms Cockings told the court that on Monday, August 31, there were “around 100 people” still present at the site in Banwen, when officers were attending to seize sound systems.