AN ILLEGAL rave in an old warehouse in Brentford was closed down at the weekend after police drafted in an extra 25 officers to help them deal with the revellers.

Over 100 people were turned away from the voodoo themed party and a makeshift bar was dismantled. A double-decker bus was used to block off the road and prevent more hordes from descending on the site.

Residents in Commerce Road called police to the event on Saturday at around 1am, after the loud music and partying ravers kept them awake. Officers, including special constables who had been drafted in to bulk up patrols, attended the scene, where over 100 people had congregated to dance.

Environmental health officers from Hounslow Council served a noise abatement notice and the organisers agreed to end the rave.

Within an hour the premises had been emptied. Three vans were used to pack up the professional stereo system and numerous kegs of lager and cider were also brought out.
Chief Inspector Wynne Jones said: “These were clear marks of what was going to be a very large rave, complete with unlicensed bar and music. It had been set up like a proper nightclub and had even been decorated with voodoo skulls around the walls.

“I believe this rave could have gone on for 24 hours or more, causing a major inconvenience to residents.”

No arrests were made and all the music lovers left quietly, even presenting police with one of the voodoo skulls on a stick as a peace offering.
Chief Inspector Jones added: “The party-goers themselves were very reasonable. They all left very peacefully. The organisers were very helpful, if a bit disappointed that we had closed down their party.”

The owners of the warehouse have now been traced; the premises have been secured and the electricity turned off.

A similar rave two weeks ago in Brentford was not closed down due to a lack of available police officers. On Saturday Hounslow Police had extra reinforcements after applying for the group of special constables volunteers with the same powers as regular officers to be deployed to the area.

Chief Insp Jones said: “We were able to shut the music off, but without the added task force we would have been unable to do that. Our aim is to reapply for the extra officers to come back and we will continue to target raves in the borough.”

3:30pm today