Police are working to disperse hundreds of people from a rave in a disused airfield near Bath, which was attended by some 3,000 people on Saturday night.
The event, at the former Charmy Down airfield in Upper Swainswick, continued throughout the morning and crowds of people are believed to still be on site as of Sunday afternoon, with video footage shared on Twitter appearing to show large crowds partying in daylight.
With the event audible across Bath, and with reports of some areas of Bristol still within earshot of the music, police were first alerted shortly before 11.30pm on Saturday evening.
Households as far away as Keynsham, some 10 miles from the site, could hear the loud music, ITV reported.
Avon and Somerset Constabulary released a lengthy statement on Sunday afternoon explaining why the event had not been shut down sooner, stating that officers had arrived “within 10 minutes” of the first call – at which point several hundred people were already on site.
A spokesperson said: “We had dedicated extra patrols on duty last night to respond to any reported unlicensed music events across the force area. These units were immediately deployed to this incident.
“Officers closed off the approach routes, however people were abandoning vehicles and making their way to the site on foot. Officers were still turning vehicles away at 6.40am today, Sunday 19 July.
“A full risk assessment last night concluded that the potential risks to public safety of an intervention to close an event attended by more than 3,000 people in dark and wet conditions were too great.
“There were also other significant incidents across the force area including 120 999 calls which required an immediate police response and the attention of our resources. Therefore the decision was taken to contain the event until daylight hours.”
Reports of the rave circulated quickly on social media, with posts largely bemoaning the volume of the event and raising questions about why it had continued throughout the morning – especially with social distancing rules still in place.
The force’s chief superintendent Ian Wylie Said: “We’re working with neighbouring forces and other agencies including Bath and North East Somerset Council, highways, and the ambulance service to close down this event in a controlled way and ensure those attending are able to disperse safely.
“We’re sorry for the disruption caused to so many residents by the selfish actions of the organisers of this event and those attending, knowing the problems it would cause and the ongoing risk to public health of large gatherings due to COVID-19.
“We will take appropriate action against those responsible and would ask anyone with evidence which could help to get in touch, quoting reference 1414 of 18 July.”
The rave comes after a number of illegal events were held throughout the lockdown period, with police attending several gatherings in London.
Six thousand people attended two illegal raves in Manchester in June, with one man dying of a suspected drug overdose, three separate stabbings and one report of a rape at the events.