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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Elaine McCahill

Bricks and bottles thrown at riot police as they shut down illegal London rave

Riot police descended on Finsbury Park in London as they shut down an illegal rave overnight.

The Met Police were called to the "unlicensed music event" in north London after vowing to "robustly and swiftly" deal with disorder.

Scotland Yard said residents living near the Woodberry Down Estate in Finsbury Park alerted police to the event on Friday night.

The Met said: "We stated earlier that any such illegal event would be closed down by police to protect the public and prevent crime."

Footage from the scene shows police officers in riot gear forming a line as they walk down the street to disperse the crowds.

A huge crowd gathered at the illegal rave (UK News in Pictures (UKNIP))

Other videos show revellers throwing objects at police officers as they attempted to move people from the area.

Eyewitnesses claim kerb stone bricks and glass bottles were aimed at police.

Two police dog handlers narrowly escaped  serious injury after a kerb stone narrowly missed them and the dog.

Local residents took to Twitter to say hundreds of people had attended the rave, while others complained about  a police helicopter circling overheard for hours.

It comes after Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D'Orsi said additional officers would be deployed over the weekend following recent murders and intelligence on unlicensed events.

Bricks and glass bottles were thrown at police (UK News in Pictures (UKNIP))

She said on Friday: "The past week has seen a number of people who have needlessly lost their lives at the hands of violent criminals - any number of murders is too many but we are very concerned by the recent increase.

"We have also seen an increase in unlicensed music events which, as well as being very disruptive to communities and posing an increased risk of Covid-19 transmission, they have in some cases led to violent incidents affecting both those attending and the officers who have to shut them down.

"Tackling violence is always the Met's number one priority and we are doing all we can to prevent any further incidents and bring perpetrators to justice."

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