Devil's Dyke rave too big for police to stop

An illegal rave which started in the early hours of Sunday in a Sussex beauty spot continued for 24 hours, ending on the early hours of the bank holiday Monday (26.05.14).  The rave, at the Devil's Dyke near Brighton, was attended by at least 2,000 people with 400 vehicles and seven sound systems and reports say prompted complaints about noise from some local residents - one resident in nearby Poynings, who did not wish to be named, said “It’s really loud and it’s been going on all night and all day".The publican of the local pub explained that the Dyke Valley funnelled sound down towards the village but took a more pragmatic view accepting that evicting ravers would have caused more problems. A Sussex Police spokesman said: "Overnight it was assessed that due to the darkness, rain, and numbers present, it was not appropriate or practical to attempt to close the gathering safely" adding" Officers have been on the site and the gathering is good humoured though very noisy" but police said they were powerless to stop the rave as they did not have enough officers - although they were restricting access to the site with road blocks. 

Photo of Devil's Dyke by Val Vannet