Lambeth rave: Eight arrested as police launch criminal investigation into illegal Halloween party

Police said 14 officers were treated for injuries when they clashed with revellers in violent scenes in south London
Violent clashes: The Met said 14 police officers were injured trying to break up the illegal rave
PA
Jamie Bullen1 November 2015

Eight people have been arrested after more than a dozen officers were injured when they broke up an illegal rave in Lambeth.

Police said they were confronted by missiles including chairs, bottles, propane tanks and a suspected petrol bomb when they arrived at the "Scumoween" rave held at a disused building in Whitgift Street.

Fourteen officers were treated at the scene for minor injuries following the violent clashes with revellers.

On Sunday, the Met said the arrests had been carried out as they launch a criminal investigation into the unlicensed event .

Commander Mak Chishty said: "Unlicensed music events are dangerous and present a very real hazard to all those who attend. Last night police faced hostility and attack; this is completely unacceptable.

Police were involved in angry clashes when they arrived to break up the illegal rave
PA

"In challenging circumstances, officers demonstrated restraint and professionalism to protect themselves and members of the public present in the area. I would also like to pay tribute to the local residents for their patience and support last night.

"We closed down the unlicensed music event in the early hours and as part of our investigation, we are appealing for anyone who has any information to contact us as soon as possible."

Scumoween: A Nightmare On Scum Street had been advertised on Facebook to take place in Whitgift Street beginning at 8pm on Halloween night and lasting all weekend.

Of 13,000 invited guests on the social networking site, 4,000 said they planned to attend.

The free event was due to feature music "from the full spectrum of underground dance".

Screen grab of 'Scumoween' Facebook event
Facebook

In a warning on Wednesday to those due to attend, organisers Scum Tek said: "This party is going ahead, stay peaceful, stay calm. Patience and numbers is in our favour. Do not antagonise the police. We don't need to. At the end of the day we want to leave them remembering our good attitudes, we just came to dance, we are not their enemy."

Anyone with information which can assist the investigation is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in