Officers repeatedly assaulted breaking up illegal rave in Yate
It's said the decision to hold a rave as coronavirus cases rise sharply will rightly make people "incredibly angry"
Police officers acted with skill and bravery to end an illegal rave in Yate over the weekend.
It's thought up to 700 people attended the event in a warehouse and officers were assaulted as they tried to break it up.
Lit spray cans and bottles were thrown - eight people were arrested including a man in his 30's on suspicion of being involved in organising the rave.
Chief Inspector Mark Runacres said: “Our priority is always to protect the safety of the public and officers have acted with skill and bravery today to bring this unlicensed event to a safe conclusion.
“These sorts of police operations are incredibly difficult to manage as we seek to bring those responsible to justice, while ensuring public safety."
He added anyone organising such an event does so "with no thought to others" and to stage something as COVID-19 cases rise significantly, "will rightly make those making sacrifices incredibly angry".
Police were first called about the event just hours after Boris Johnson's announcement on Saturday night (31/10) that England will enter a second national lockdown this week.
Hundreds of people were already at the event and surrounding roads were closed to prevent more people driving to the industrial estate, but large numbers kept arriving by foot.
Police weren't able to clear the building until 3:10pm on Sunday afternoon, partly because cutting power to the site had no impact on the event.
The equipment used has been seized.