AN illegal rave in the Pewsey Vale was thwarted at the weekend.

Police sent drones up after being tipped off to the party near Woodborough at around 10pm on Saturday night.

Officers attended the scene, supported by the drone unit, and a gathering of 20-30 people was located with a sound system, bar and portable toilets.

Whilst officers were at the location, more people started to turn up.

Under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, officers seized all the sound equipment and the individuals were all dispersed.

Supt Gavin Williams said: “I hope our response to this matter serves as a reminder to all that we will act on intelligence passed to us.

“Illegal raves such as this have a really damaging impact on our rural communities and we will use proportionate action to ensure they are stopped as early as possible.

“It is also worth reminding everyone that, under the current Government guidelines, we should all be maintaining social distancing at this time.

“Finally, I would urge our communities to continue sharing information about incidents such as this so we are able to intervene at the earliest opportunity.”