COUNTY UPDATE: Road remains closed after 200 attend countryside rave

Revellers are still leaving a rave on the South Downs, which at its height was attended by around 200 people, police believe.
The road remains closedThe road remains closed
The road remains closed

Police have closed Falmer Road in East Sussex in both directions, between the Amex stadium and the junction with Bexhill Road in Woodingdean, for the ‘foreseeable future’.

The spokesperson confirmed that officers became aware of a large number of people and vehicles in Falmer Road just before 3am.

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They were travelling to a rave on land off Falmer Road, the spokesperson said.

The road remains closedThe road remains closed
The road remains closed

“It is estimated that at its height, there were 200 people and 40 vehicles,” said the spokesperson.

Police presence was maintained and active measures were taken to seek to prevent the event escalating further, the spokesperson said.

Officers at the site closed nearby roads to any other vehicles and a helicopter was used to monitor the area.

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The spokesperson said that although police have powers to close down such events, an assessment must be made into whether this can be done ‘safely and effectively’.

The road remains closedThe road remains closed
The road remains closed

The assessment found that it would not be possible or safe to close the event down due to the time of night and layout of the land, the spokesperson said.

Superintendent Jane Derrick said police would continue to monitor the event and speak to organisers to bring the event to a safe conclusion, adding: “We want to get Falmer Road open and minimise disruption to the local community.”

A spokesperson confirmed that people were still leaving the site.

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