POLICE are dealing with an illegal rave at the Halfway Forest near Llandovery, officers have confirmed.
It is understood that hundreds of people were planning to attend the site, including a large contingent of ravers from Pembrokeshire and the surrounding west Wales area. Police said they disrupted many attempting to get to the site.
Up to 400 people were at the rave this morning (Mar 27) police said.
A spokesperson for the police told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “Dyfed-Powys Police officers are dealing with a rave in the quarry of Halfway Forest, Llandovery.
“Concerned residents of the area reported a possible rave during the early hours of this morning (27 March 2022), and officers immediately attended the area.
“Officers found large amounts of people had travelled to the site which was located within the Natural Resources Wales Forestry.
“Overnight an authority under Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 was granted by the duty Chief Superintendent. This has allowed Dyfed-Powys Police officers to set up vehicle check points within a 5 mile radius of the scene in accordance with Section 65 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.
“Safety considerations surrounding breaking up the event were paramount, and a policy of containment and disrupting any further vehicles and people entering has been instigated overnight.
“This will be constantly assessed throughout today by a senior officer at the scene, and a notice to ‘leave land’ could be issued to all present. It is estimated that there are approximately 300 – 400 attendees at the rave this morning.
“Officers have arrested a 22 year old man for failing a drug swipe as he was trying to enter the site. He remains in police custody.”
Inspector Dawn Fencott-Price said: “Some of those that have travelled to this rave were from as far afield as Devon and Gloucestershire. Social media was used to disclose the location at the last possible minute in order to prevent law enforcement taking preventative measures. We are really grateful to local residents for quickly reporting their concerns and allowing officers to take a practical approach to dealing with it. Our priority is to keep the area safe and end the unlawful gathering in a timely and peaceful manner. We will deal robustly with any offences that come to light during the course of this operation.”
Dyfed-Powys Police said that it has a well-rehearsed strategy for dealing with illegal raves and unlicensed music events, collaborating with partners such as Natural Resources Wales.
Police say social media has made it easier to organise raves at short notice and for numbers to grow quickly.
Supt Robyn Mason said: “We keep an eye on social media but the organisers of these raves know that we do that.
“There’s nothing better than the local communities who see and hear things happening. Hopefully then we can deal with these events before they escalate.
“Once they start they are very challenging and it’s more a case of tolerating it and dealing with the aftermath.
“It’s frightening for people living in small isolated communities and there’s the significant impact loud music has on wildlife and that hundreds or thousands of people have on the environment.
“If those rave-goers understood that then perhaps they would consider doing something else with their leisure time.”
Speaking last year a spokesperson for Natural Resources Wales said the impact of illegal raves on forests, such as Halfway Forest near Llandovery, could be “devastating” and wasted limited resources.
It has installed lockable barriers at several access points to Brechfa forest and increased patrols before weekends.
Land Management team leader Dai Rees said at the time: “Illegal raves only cause distress to local people but also required considerable time and money to clean up afterwards.
“We strongly urge anyone who is concerned about any suspicious activity in their local forest to report it to the police.”
(Image: Herald file, from a rave in similar location, 2019)
