Residents' anger over 'massive rave' held in Stokes Croft
Residents in Bristol have expressed their anger over an impromptu rave that started in the middle of a road and lasted late into the night.
People in the Stokes Croft area of the city shared pictures and videos showing hundreds of people crammed together on Saturday night partying to loud music and ignoring the latest guidance on social distancing.
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Police cars could be seen passing the site on multiple occasions throughout the evening.
Residents in neighbouring houses have described the event as "disgusting", and have said "people will die" as a result of the disregard of social distancing.
One mother said the "massive party" kept her children awake. Although she defended organisers saying there hadn't been anything like this for months.
Organisers set up a makeshift sound system, blasting music from late afternoon to the early hours of the morning as a crowd estimated to be as large as 1,000 people danced.
One resident told ITV News "it started at 3pm - a large marquee and sound system - it was selfish irresponsible and probably illegal - we are in the middle of a pandemic - [I'm] furious".
On Sunday morning the street was filled with empty beer cans, canisters of laughing gas and bins overflowing.
Avon and Somerset Police admit they were alerted to the rave, as well as a separate gathering in the St Werburgh's area, on multiple occasions.
A spokesperson for the polices has said that a spate of incidents including car accidents and domestic assault stopped officers from responding directly early in the afternoon.
Once crowds has gathered that police deemed too large to safely disperse, officers focused on containing the event rather than breaking it up.
See the full police statement below: