Arrests made following illegal rave

A FARMER faced another clean up job this week after party-goers held a second illegal rave on his land.

More than 250 ravers descended on a field near Steeple Morden in the early hours of Sunday for the party. A similar event occurred on the same weekend last year.

The land is owned by Bernard Ingrey, who last year had to clear 45 sacks of rubbish from his land after group departed.

He said: “If anything it’s a little bit better this year. There seems to be a bit less stuff lying around, and it’s cleaner than it was before.”

Mr Ingrey said he was unaware of what was going on until his daughter informed him that the ravers had returned.

“You don’t get any prior warning, they just turn up,” he said. “We knew it was this weekend last year, but you can’t hear what’s going from where I live and I can’t be sitting out in the field all night in case they arrive.”

With the rave now seemingly an annual event, Mr Ingrey said it would be difficult to make the site any more secure to try and prevent the illegal party taking place again in 2011.

He said: “It would be better if they didn’t turn up every year - they’ve cut through the padlock on the gates to get onto the field. The problem is there’s not much you can do to stop them, I can’t put a bigger fence up because it would have to stretch all the way from Steeple Morden to Abington Pigotts.”

Police said they were alerted to the rave at approximately 2am on Sunday, but after liasing with Mr Ingrey and another affected landowner they decided not to move in until later that day.

Officers arrived on the site at about 11.30am, while the police helicopter also circled the site but didn’t land.

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Those present were told to vacate the site, and take all their rubbish with them.”

Five people were arrested for drink or drug driving offences, while four others were detained for licencing offences. A vehicle was seized, along with music equipment worth several thousand pounds.

The spokesman added that is not thought the rave is connected to the cancellation of the Cambridge Strawberry Fair, which had been scheduled to take place last Saturday.