Riot police were called to shut down an illegal rave in Reading recently after a noise complaint was filed from guests of a nearby hotel.
Over 300 rave participants gathered near Barry’s land road for an illegal rave. Police claim missiles were launched at them, leading to dog units, five riot vans and a helicopter being called for backup.
Five arrests took place, on suspicion of a number of offences including public order offences, attempt to assault police and for possession to supply drugs. Police also removed a man who had collapsed to allow him to receive medical treatment.
A quantity of what is suspected to be drugs was recovered from the scene.
James Andrews, who was staying at The Reading Lake Hotel, said: “I noticed a large group of people hovering at the bottom of the road when I arrived. At about 10.15pm the helicopters started circling above that woke us up. We looked out of the window and police had formed a human barricade at the end of the road and there were so many police cars.”
Chief Inspector Graham Hadley, said: “This was an event which took place in which members of the public put themselves in danger by taking drugs and going on to the M4 carriageway. Thankfully it was resolved without serious injury.
“Illegal unlicensed music events are dangerous and there is little regard for public safety and we will continue to deal with reports of such events robustly” he added.
Check out the video footage of the event below!
