Organiser of illegal rave banned from Exmoor National Park for a year


The organiser of an illegal rave has been banned from entering Exmoor National Park in Devon for a year.

The ban comes after Forestry England – the owners of Exmoor’s land – teamed up with Somerset police to remove organisers of illegal events from the area.

According to Mixmag, the organiser of two illegal raves in the national park – on June 25 and July 2 this year – has been banned from the area for 12 months under a Community Protection Warning (CPW).

Sergeant Max Priestley said: “Issuing the Community Protection Warning with the support of our Antisocial Behaviour Team is a great success, made possible by our collaborative response to these illegal events.”

Priestley went on to praise local resident Jennifer Duke, who alerted authorities to the raves. He said: “Jennifer and local residents like her are our essential eyes and ears to provide evidence after events and – ideally – intelligence before they happen so we can stop them before they start.”

People attending an illegal rave in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. © Connor Matheson/reportdigital.co.uk

A report from Somerset Live says that if the individual breaches the ban, they could face arrest and jail time.

Police have now enforced locals to patrol the area during the summer months. They are encouraging anyone who sees a “large number of vehicles” in a rural area or an “unloading of speakers” to contact the police.

Forestry England’s John Ebsary said: “As a rural land manager, we are left with the fallout from illegal music events far too often. They cause misery for our neighbours and immeasurable harm to wildlife and forest habitats.”

Earlier this year, police shut down an illegal rave that was being held in an under-construction police station in Amsterdam. Around 300 people were reportedly in attendance.

Last summer, it was reported that former UK Home Secretary Priti Patel relied on false data about illegal raves to push for a clampdown during the coronavirus lockdowns. A study by Mixmag showed that figures were inflated due to flawed methodology in how the data was collected.

In the summer of 2020, police introduced new fines for those who organise and attend illegal raves in England. Police in the country will be able to fine organisers of illegal gatherings of more than 30 people up to £10,000.





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