POLICE have promised tougher action would be taken after residents in several small Exmoor communities were disturbed by another illegal rave at the weekend.

Roads were closed as officers blocked access to the latest rave, in Croydon Woods, in the triangle between Timberscombe, Luxborough, and Roadwater.

Police said ‘positive action’ would be pursued against the organisers, while details were taken of cars used by those attending to allow owners to be warned they risked the vehicles being seized.

Several hundred people attended the latest in a series of raves which have plagued Exmoor National Park communities in the past two years.

The disturbance began late on Friday evening (October 4) and continued despite police presence until Saturday night.

Complaints were made to police by residents throughout Friday night and many took to social media to bemoan what they saw as a low-key response with claims just two officers were sent to investigate.

The ravers used logging tracks to park vehicles, and it was alleged a chain blocking road access from the Nutcombe direction was cut.

An Avon and Somerset Constabulary spokesman told the Free Press an estimated 250 to 300 people were found at the event at about 2am on Saturday.

The spokesman said: “We want to reassure the community we do take these matters seriously and will be seeking positive action against those identified as playing a key role in the organisation of the event.

“We will be working with partner agencies to explore ways to prevent further such events occurring in the vicinity.”

They said officers recorded vehicle details as ravers left in order to issue registered keepers with ‘Section 59’ warning notices, a procedure which could involve seizing the vehicles if they were found at any future rave.

The spokesman said more than two police officers attended the scene, but residents should appreciate resources were prioritised based on the threat, harm, and risk posed.

The Croydon Woods rave did not appear to have any impact on the road network, and initially only ‘a small number of calls’ from the public were received, due to its remote location.

The spokesman said: “Public safety is always our priority and given the darkness, it was deemed safer at that stage to continue to monitor the situation.

“More calls from the public were received later in the morning and officers re-attended during daylight hours at approximately 9am.

“The number of people in attendance had reduced, with an estimated 100 people present.

“Officers engaged with those involved to seek to bring the event to a safe conclusion and to ensure the site was left in a tidy condition.

“We are grateful to the members of the public who reported their concerns to us and understand the detrimental impact it had on them.

“We continue to encourage members of the public to report any suspicions they have about unauthorised music events that may be about to take place and ask landowners take responsibility to ensure gates and outbuildings are secure to prevent easy access to them.”