Police break up New Year’s Eve rave attended by 200 people in woods

Crowds gathered at Rowberrow Woods near Winscombe, Somerset, to ring in the New Year

Officers arrived at the scene at around 1am on Sunday (stock image) (PA Archive)

A New Year rave attended by around 200 people has been broken up by police.

Avon and Somerset Police were called to Rowberrow Woods near Winscombe, Somerset, at about 12.25am on New Year’s Day.

Officers arrived on the scene at around 1am and found up to 200 people had gathered.

A police spokeswoman said: “One generator was shut down and officers prevented further access to the site.

“The music was turned off by the organisers by 7.30am and officers are directing people to leave the site in accordance with a direction under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994.

“We continue to ask people to avoid the area as there is congestion on local routes due to an estimated 150 vehicles trying to leave, with several having parked blocking lanes.”

Local response to the police attendance was mixed.

One post on Somerset Live’s Facebook page said: “Hope these lot have a good night enjoying their free rave. Let the young enjoy themselves! They’re there to party, not cause trouble! Cops should be in the towns looking at the drunks.

“I know that scene very well. They’ve taken themselves away from areas they can be disturbing neighbours so they can go and pump tunes, let off steam, and generally have a good time. Not everything has to be a police emergency, and as long as nobody leaves litter (which they usually don’t), then what’s the harm?”

But others said that the lack of licensing condition on unofficial events put people who attended at risk.