COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

The late-night gathering attracted up to 200 people before being broken up by police



A street party complete with a mobile DJ that was broken up by police in a Coventry neighbourhood moved to a new location afterwards, according to a resident.

More than 500 youths were originally said to have gathered in and around a green in Campion Close, Cheylesmore, on Friday night (July 24). Residents dialled 999 and officers who attended dispersed the crowd, who were flouting social distancing rules designed to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

However, a resident in Wood End said the crowd simply moved to a car park outside a shopping centre on the corner of Hillmorton Road and Lillington Road, where up to 200 people gathered for a boisterous outdoor rave that began at 11pm.

Police attended and explained the "negative impact" that the crowd's behaviour was having on residents before the party began to disperse.

Pictures show a large number of people and cars at the location, where music and crowd noise could be heard from nearby homes. A DJ who had been playing rap music in Cheylesmore earlier on in the night is thought to have decamped to the new location eight miles away.

The resident, who did not want to be named, said: “There was a DJ and people dancing and drinking. I don’t know if anyone did call the police but they did drive by at one point.

“The party started in Cheylesmore and when the police chased them out of there they put a call-out on Instagram and they came to Wood End instead.”

Police disperse 50 people gathering for street party in Wood End car park

Police broke up a gathering of around 50 people who were arriving for a street party outside a shopping centre in Wood End for the second weekend running.

Officers backed up by a marked van attended on the evening of July 31 after a sound system was set up in the car park and people started milling about as darkness fell.

As uniformed officers moved in, the crowd could be heard shouting and around a dozen people could be seen running from the scene along Hillmorton Road.

An electric bike was seized by officers who attended the focal point.

Earlier in the evening, a mobile sound system with speakers had been set up in the car park, on the corner of Hillmorton and Lillington Road.

The latest gathering follows a large rave in the car park last weekend that attracted up to 200 people before being dispersed by police.