FOUR raves were broken up by police over the weekend and 12 people were arrested.

Sussex Police stopped two raves overnight on Friday into Saturday morning and a further two Saturday night into Sunday morning.

This crackdown comes just weeks after Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne called for a review into how the police force deals with raves after they failed to stop a 2000 strong event at Devil's Dyke.

Superintendent Jim Bartett said: "These calls came in thanks to members of the public who were concerned and alerted us to the potential raves. We acted swiftly to stop them before they started or were able to grow in size.

"We are asking people to be our eyes and ears to potential raves. Keep an eye on access points to land and make sure they are secure.

“Please report any locks which have been broken or removed. Report any vehicles driving off-road, groups of vehicles in rural areas, convoys of vehicles and loud music in remote locations."

Officers were called around 10pm on Saturday to Wivelsfield near Burgess Hill as the rave was being set up and people were arriving.

Three men, a 26-year-old from Brighton, a 23-year-old from Peacehaven and a 24-year-old from Seaford, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance.

All have been bailed until August 22. The sound equipment was also seized. At 12.40am on Sunday morning another rave was stopped at Stanmer Park in Brighton where 50 people had attended with more people attending the location.

Police attended, seized the sound equipment and arrested three men.

A 26-year-old from Brighton, a 23-year-old from Hastings and a 28-year-old from Brighton, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance and have been released without charge.

On Saturday night at around 10pm police were alerted to a large rave being set up in Falmer. Officers attended and arrested six men.

A 27-year-old from Brighton, a 30-year-old with no fixed address, a 24-year-old from Horsham, a 29-year-old from Brighton and a 29-year-old from Billingshurt were arrested for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

A 29-year-old from Horsham was arrested for conspiracy to cause a public nuisance and possession of a knife.

They have all been bailed until July 28 while investigations continue. A significant amount of sound equipment was seized by police.

A further small rave was also broken up in Rogate, near Petersfield, at 3am where approximately 60 people were in attendance. No arrests were made.