Thorpe St Andrew: Officer Injured As Rave Shut Down

17 November 2013, 10:25 | Updated: 17 November 2013, 10:28

Twelve people have been arrested and one officer was injured after police prevented an illegal rave in Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, last night.

Police were tipped off to suspicious activity at about 11.50pm with a member of the public reporting cars and a van entering a derelict site at Pinebanks on School Lane.

Officers attended the scene and 12 people, men and women, were arrested on suspicion of burglary offences and sound equipment was also seized.

As officers secured the building more people began to arrive at the site, via Harvey Lane and White Farm Lane, becoming hostile towards the police presence with additional officers brought in to deal with 50-60 strong crowds. The police helicopter was also deployed to monitor the crowd and assist with the policing operation.

Bottles were thrown at officers who were using shield lines to keep crowds contained and from entering the building where the sounds equipment had been seized.

Officers managed to hold off the crowd who began to leave the site at around 1.20am, with people moving off into the residential area. Police continued to monitor their movements and the incident was brought under control within two hours.

An investigation has been launched and detectives will be interviewing the 12 suspects, held in custody at stations across the county, later today.

Chief Superintendent Bob Scully said: “This was a serious incident and while nearby residents would have been disturbed by police activity an illegal music event running throughout the night and into the early hours would have caused more impact on the local community.

“The action taken last night to shut down this event falls in line with our efforts to reduce serious anti-social behaviour and environmental damage caused by illegal and unlicensed events.”