​Illegal rave in Dartmoor National Park sparks outrage among locals

Over the weekend, an illegal rave took place in the national park of Dartmoor, Devon, leading to an eight-hour cleanup over the following days.

Between February 12 - 13, a party took place in amongst the nature reserve where, subsequently, hundreds of empty drinks cans, bottles, and camping equipment was left.

Park wardens Dartmoor Rangers took to the site on Monday, February 14, where an enormous cleanup operation ensued.

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“8+hrs (sic) of Rangers time spent today clearing up after a rave which took place over the weekend. Time, money and valuable resources that could have been better utilised,” the group posted on Facebook along with pictures of the rubbish left behind.

Amongst the mess, broken gazebos, wooden palettes, burnt wood, tables and bags upon bags of rubbish were pictured, with commenters deeming the situation “utterly disgusting”.

“Beyond disgraceful. Sorry you guys are the ones who had to deal with it all,” said one local. “I’m all up for a rave and people enjoying themselves. However, you cannot leave it in this appalling state!” said another.

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Dartmoor rangers are now urging anyone with information on the illegal rave to come forward. "It’s hugely frustrating, not just for our rangers but for landowners, farmers, residents and all the people who love Dartmoor,” a spokesperson for the rangers told ITV.

“It diverts rangers away from other important things like practical conservation work which protect and enhance Dartmoor. We’d continue to encourage anyone who sees or hears incidents like this to contact the police so it can be dealt with swiftly."

The clean up took over eight hours to restore the park back to its original state, according to park rangers.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow her on Twitter