Police were called to a sewer at the mouth of Newcastle’s River Ouseburn on Saturday, following reports of a “potentially deadly” illegal rave.
Around 200 revellers had waded through a few feet of water to access the sewer area where organisers had set up a sound system and lighting. The event was organised on Facebook with attendees invited to a pub beforehand and then taken to the sewer tunnels.
It was eventually disrupted by police at around 4am after a number of people in attendance at the party contacted them with concerns about the safety of the rave.
Nobody has been arrested in connection with the event but police have said the venue was “dangerous” and that organisers had put lives at risk.
Chief Inspector Dave Pickett, of Central Area Command, said:
“You can clearly see from the pictures that this is a dangerous site for members of the public, nevermind an appropriate party venue. These events are not licensed or supported by the responsible authorities who duty is to oversee the safety of the public.”
“It is not an area that is easy to access so if anyone needed the assistance of the emergency services then they would have been in severe trouble. We are very lucky that we are not talking about a more serious incident, particularly when you consider that many of those involved were under the influence of alcohol” he added.
Police released pictures online of a rave that happened on Saturday night in a former WW2 bomb shelter.
