Retford rave police response branded 'pathetic'

Police have defended their handling of a rave in Nottinghamshire after some residents called the response "pathetic".

Hundreds of people gathered at the Old Pit at Bevercotes near Retford on Saturday night.

People living nearby said they were kept awake all night and nothing was done to halt anti-social behaviour.

Nottinghamshire Police said their response was proportionate and based on a risk assessment of a difficult area.

Richard and Lucy Vernon, who live about a mile away in Elkesley, said: "Initially we thought it was loud party in the village but outside all you could hear was 'boom boom boom'.

"There were people in the fields drinking from cans and urinating in hedges.

"And when they were leaving - after 16 hours - you could see they were under the influence and they were getting into cars, driving off and no one was stopping them.

"I think they [the police] need to have better plans in place for incidents in a rural area, as this was pathetic."

Det Ch Insp Paul Murphy, from Nottinghamshire Police, said safety was paramount: "It was the middle of the night and officers were going to a deserted colliery and we made a risk assessment of the situation.

"We have to uphold the law but in the safest way possible - are we prepared to put our officers at risk by sending them into an unknown area and that colliery is a vast area."

He said investigations would continue and the organisers would be "held to account".