FIFTEEN years ago, the peace of a Worcestershire village was shattered when 20,000 New Age travellers arrived and staged a week-long rave. Their definition of freedom to do as they wished resulted in sleepless nights for people who lived nearby, mountains of litter and human excrement and the deaths of more than 100 sheep, torn apart by roaming packs of dogs.

There is nothing remotely reactionary about reminding ourselves of that summer week of infamy. The noise carried for miles and thousands of ordinary people suddenly found their lives were being governed by the musical tastes of total strangers, while those living nearer Castlemorton Common had to put up with the petty miseries entailed with incidents of trespass. Only one word sums it up - hell.

Could it happen again? True, there have been fears expressed that the emergence of Nu Rave music might signal the start of a rave revival. And there is now also widespread use of the internet, a means of communication that was only in its embryonic stages back in 1992. Nevertheless, this could actually be the undoing of anyone who tried to stage a repeat festival, for the resulting upsurge in electronic traffic would almost certainly be detected.

The Castlemorton nightmare caught everyone napping because the intelligence was poor. The authorities were undoubtedly taken by surprise but it's hard to imagine the same happening again.

This is because police and councils are keeping a collective eye on developments and would presumably act swiftly if large groups of travellers were detected heading our way. This newspaper therefore trusts there is no cause for concern.