Police issue £16,000 in fines following railway arch illegal rave in East London

An illegal rave hosted under a railway arch in East London with more than 100 people resent was broken up by police at the weekend.

Police were called on scene around 1:30 AM on Saturday after being tipped off to the illegal gathering by local residents, who spotted the revellers around Tidworth Road in Tower Hamlets, near Bow Road station.

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Wooden crates had been used to build a makeshift bar under the derelict structure.

The attendees scattered when police arrived, with police saying some left by "dangerously jumping over high walls into a graveyard".

£16,000 worth of fines in fixed penalty notices were issued by police, with 20 people detained facing fines of £800 for breaking lockdown laws.

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Chief Inspector Pete Shaw said: “It is mad that people are still prepared to break the rules, despite the extreme loss of a life as a result of this virus.

“It is shameful some people are selfishly putting others at risk.

“With the roadmap announcement last week, we are all very excited at the prospect of returning to normal in June.

“However, events such as this risk undermining that roadmap and could cause further delays by creating a breeding ground for the virus.

“We will continue to do our part in shutting them down and taking action by issuing fines.”

[Via: Evening Standard]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Features Editor, follow him on Twitter

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