A woman from Bournemouth has been arrested following a huge illegal rave which took over an industrial site on New Year’s Eve. The rave, which involved more than 300 people, occurred late on New Year’s Eve and into the early hours of New Year’s Day at the old abandoned colliery site known as The British in Talywain, south of Blaenavon.
Police were contacted by a number of locals in the early hours over the noise and arrived to clear people from the area on Wednesday, January 1. Officers pulled the plug on the party, disconnecting the power and issuing a section 63 notice to clear the area before the last revellers left at mid morning.
In a statement, Gwent Police have now confirmed a 32-year-old woman from Bournemouth was arrested and has since been released under investigation. A spokesperson said: “Officers attended, issued a section 63 notice to those in the area, directing them to leave.
“We arrested a 32-year-old on suspicion of criminal damage to a property under £5,000 (a vehicle) and possession of a controlled drug of class A – MDMA. The woman, from Bournemouth, was released under investigation as our enquiries continue.”
The disused former colliery site was the site of a huge illegal rave which lasted into the early hours of new year’s day
(Image: John Myers)
Superintendent Stephen Drayton for Gwent Police said: “We’ve launched an investigation into the unlicensed music event at The British, Talywain, and our neighbourhood policing team will be working with our partners to prevent similar events at this location in the future.” The force asked for the public’s help with its investigations. A spokesperson asked for anyone with information to contact them quoting reference number 2500000277.
After the area had been cleared Philip Parfitt, who has lived inside The British for eight years, told WalesOnline he wasn’t informed of the rave before his makeshift home was taken over on the night. He said while a fence was damaged to gain entry, he found ravers to be respectful and they generally cleaned up after they’d finished.