Items thrown at police officers as illegal raves shut down in Bristol
Police insist that they were not "trying to stop people from celebrating New Year’s Eve" as they broke up three hundreds-strong events
Police officers in Bristol were pelted by illegal ravers on New Year’s Eve as they attempted to shut down several unlicensed events, according to Avon & Somerset Police.
Three separate illegal raves were shut down across the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area on the night of December 31, Superintendent George Headley said.
A warehouse event in Aztec West with around 500 people in attendance was broken up in the early hours of New Year’s Day following reports of “loud music”, where one person was arrested on suspicion of “a number of offences”, and soundsystems were seized.
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Another event with around 400 people in attendance was shut down at an industrial site in St Phillips, with officers reporting that ravers then began throwing items at them and their vehicles.
“Throwing items at police officers and driving while under the influence of drugs is also totally unacceptable, and something the public would expect us to take a strong stance against,” said Headley in a statement.
He continued: “Officers’ hard work throughout the night means those suspected of committing crimes find themselves starting 2026 by waking up to the very real and sobering prospect of being investigated and prosecuted.”
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Two arrests were made following the incident as suspects were “tracked by a drone operator who was deployed to the scene”, with an investigation still ongoing.
A third event was shut down at around 2:25AM in Purdown, with around 100 people in attendance. Music was turned off and ravers were said to have left the scene by 5:AM.
“We know some people accuse us of trying to stop people from celebrating New Year’s Eve, but that is absolutely not the case. We want people to have a good time; what we don’t want is people’s safety being put at risk,” Headley said.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on Twitter
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