Police break up illegal Dorset rave
Around 1,000 people were at the event in East Lulworth
Last updated 18th Apr 2022
Almost 24 hours after it started, a massive illegal rave in Dorset has finally been dispersed by police.
Officers believe around 1,000 people attended the event on a site close to East Lulworth on Easter Sunday (April 17th).
A post on Dorset Police's Facebook page prompted comments seeming to poke fun at politicians accused of attending lockdown-breaking parties - with one user describing the event as a 'business meeting'.
In a statement, Dorset Police say it worked with groups including the MOD, Dorset Council, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue and other public service to bring the event to a 'safe conclusion'.
The last visitors left the site at around 9pm on Sunday.
Sam De Reya, Deputy Chief Constable of Dorset Police, said:
“Throughout the incident we worked in partnership with other public sector and military agencies to achieve the positive resolution.
“Police officers entered the site and directed people to leave the scene of the unlawful gathering using powers under the Public Order Act. Due to the large scale of the event and the inherent impact of dispersing such high number of people, this process took some time. In our operations we always have to balance enforcement activities with the safety of our officers and all those involved. Making sure that a site is cleared without any escalation or moving the risk to our road network is always a difficult process.
“The unauthorised event started to disperse during the afternoon. However, we will continue to monitor the situation and will have a presence in the area.
“I would like to thank our local community for their patience while we took positive action to deal with this incident. We are very grateful for the support our officers have been given.”