AN outdoor concert on Castlemorton Common has been cancelled by police - 16 years after 20,000 people invaded the area and held an illegal rave.
West Mercia Constabulary stepped in at the 11th hour to stop tomorrow's live music event and warned that any "unlawful activity" would be dealt with.
The organisers, Floating Lotus, which provides solar-powered tents for summer festivals, had obtained an entertainment licence from Malvern Hills District Council, to run the event from 8pm to midnight.
But the event had been advertised on the internet and, as tickets were not sold in advance, it was impossible to know how many people would attend, prompting fears of a repeat of May 1992 when more than 20,000 travellers descended on Castlemorton Common for a bank holiday rave.
Acting superintendent Iain Bailey said: "The music event advertised as Tragic Roundabout At The Dome for the evening of Sunday, May 4, at Castlemorton has been cancelled after officers from West Mercia Constabulary and representatives from Malvern Hills District Council and Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade met with the organiser."
He declined to comment further but added "South Worcestershire police will be monitoring the area closely and will deal robustly with any unlawful activity."
The Castlemorton rave could be heard from five miles away and grabbed national headlines in 1992.
The clean-up operation cost Castlemorton villagers and Malvern Hills District Council about £16,000, and it was estimated that 100 sheep and lambs were killed.
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