Residents angry as hundreds of people gather at illegal rave
AN INVESTIGATION is under way after an illegal rave which started in the early hours of yesterday was still going on last night.
Hundreds of people started gathering at the scene – a large area of land between the villages of Brechfa and Abergorlech, about 15 miles north of Carmarthen – at about 1am yesterday morning.
The rave was still going on yesterday afternoon and loud music could be heard for miles around.
As the main road into the rave was blocked by police officers, access was only possible by crossing several fields, a stream, and bypassing barbed wire. Once inside, scores of people were milling around. Some were fast asleep inside their cars while other were sleeping on paths, on grassy banks and on a trailer that had been left in one of the fields.
Residents living nearby took to social media to vent their anger, complaining that the event had left them “angry and shattered”. Yesterday police admitted their focus had turned to stopping more people from entering the rave rather than trying to break up the crowd inside.
It is understood that the rave was to continue into this morning.
One resident said he and his wife were woken by noise. “I was woken at about 5am by the noise,” said Leslie Borland, who lives just outside Nantyffin, directly opposite the rave site.
“There was a police helicopter overhead at about 8am as well. It’s such a vast area of land with such a limited access that they would have needed the helicopter just to see the scale of the whole thing.”
A spokeswoman for DyfedPowys Police said: “The number of persons involved and the safety aspects surrounding breaking up the event meant a decision was made to prioritise disrupting and stopping entry of any further vehicles and people.
“Officers were liaising with residents in the area. The National Police Air Service assisted to gather intelligence and evidence.”