Police called to illegal rave 'raid' parish council cinema

8:50am Wednesday 5th September 2012 in News By Bill Gardner

POLICE IS THE WORD: "Ravers" at the open air cinema POLICE IS THE WORD: "Ravers" at the open air cinema

When Sussex Police received a report of an illegal rave on Saturday evening, a squad car with flashing blue lights was scrambled to the scene.

The officer arrived expecting to find revellers dancing to pumping music - and was ready to shut the wild party down.

But instead of a hedonistic rave, the bemused police officer found a group of elderly villagers and families quietly watching an open air showing of Grease.

The event, organised by Forest Row Parish Council, took place in a car park behind the Foresters pub.

Rodabe Rudin, Forest Row parish clerk, said the surprise police visit had been “surreal”.

She said: “We were all sitting watching the film when suddenly the police officer turned up out of the blue. He looked a bit baffled and asked if we were having a rave so we told him we weren’t.

“Everyone was very confused, not least the police officer himself.

“I suppose we had a popcorn machine and a few hot dogs but I could hardly describe it as a wild party.”

Mrs Rudin said organisers had sent letters to neighbours warning them about the event.

She said: “Everyone seemed quite happy so we can’t understand why someone would call the police. It was a bit of a waste of their time, to be honest.

“There were some teenagers hanging around at the back but I don’t believe they were raving.

“The next film we’ll show will be Dirty Dancing, but there will certainly be no raving. I’m far too old for that.”

Inspector Lee Lyons, who gave the order to investigate the ‘rave’, said the officer had seen the funny side.

He said: “He certainly got a shock - but he thought it was pretty amusing.

“Obviously no one was breaking the law so we left them in peace to enjoy their night.

“We do always respond to reports of illegal raves, even if they don’t always turn out to be accurate.”

 

Did this story make you chuckle? Here are some more recent quirkies to tickle your fancy:

Comments(17)

BEVIE33 says...
8:57am Wed 5 Sep 12

im losing the will too live, how is this NEWS?? if people want to enjoy themselves and all that, they say they notified the neighbours! what bothers me is that we have a Very noisy neighbour that partys until 4am with loud music n heavy bass and i have a little boy in bed that cant sleep but the police dont want to know about that!

Report this post »

still waiting says...
8:57am Wed 5 Sep 12

"a squad car with flashing blue lights was scrambled to the scene. ". Oh, really? Nice to see that the art of hyperbole is still going strong. And it's always good to see the fine folk of Forest Row get their few seconds of fame

Report this post »

Crystal Ball says...
8:59am Wed 5 Sep 12

Eye to the small world.

Report this post »

GIVE UP says...
9:11am Wed 5 Sep 12

You forgot to put the the date for the showing of Dirty Dancing..

Report this post »

AmboGuy says...
9:43am Wed 5 Sep 12

BEVIE33 wrote:
im losing the will too live, how is this NEWS?? if people want to enjoy themselves and all that, they say they notified the neighbours! what bothers me is that we have a Very noisy neighbour that partys until 4am with loud music n heavy bass and i have a little boy in bed that cant sleep but the police dont want to know about that!
Because noisy neighbours isn't a police matter. Speak to your local council noise team.

Report this post »

frowmarket says...
10:13am Wed 5 Sep 12

Our next Village Market Drive-In experience will be Dirty Dancing on 6th October at 7.30pm, followed by The Rocky Horror picture show on November 3rd at the same time. Both in Forester's car park. Pre-booking essential at 01342 822661. www.forestrowvillage
market.org.uk for more details.

Report this post »

inadaptado says...
10:16am Wed 5 Sep 12

BEVIE33 wrote:
im losing the will too live, how is this NEWS?? if people want to enjoy themselves and all that, they say they notified the neighbours! what bothers me is that we have a Very noisy neighbour that partys until 4am with loud music n heavy bass and i have a little boy in bed that cant sleep but the police dont want to know about that!
Now you know the trick: call the Police and tell them your neighbour is holding an illegal rave or he is a squatter. Even better, tell them he is a squatter holding a rave. They will send an army without thinking twice.

Report this post »

cvs says...
10:34am Wed 5 Sep 12

inadaptado wrote:
BEVIE33 wrote:
im losing the will too live, how is this NEWS?? if people want to enjoy themselves and all that, they say they notified the neighbours! what bothers me is that we have a Very noisy neighbour that partys until 4am with loud music n heavy bass and i have a little boy in bed that cant sleep but the police dont want to know about that!
Now you know the trick: call the Police and tell them your neighbour is holding an illegal rave or he is a squatter. Even better, tell them he is a squatter holding a rave. They will send an army without thinking twice.
Or if you want an even quicker response report an incident of racial abuse

Report this post »

kerryfee says...
12:00pm Wed 5 Sep 12

The picture on this site is showing Dirty dancing not grease.

Report this post »

F in L says...
12:18pm Wed 5 Sep 12

Bemused Police Officer...... how could they tell.

Report this post »

bogs says...
12:53pm Wed 5 Sep 12

Shame they can't respond when there's a break in.

Report this post »

GRUMPAH says...
1:07pm Wed 5 Sep 12

bogs wrote:
Shame they can't respond when there's a break in.
They'll respond quick enough if you tell them you've shot the intruder!!

Report this post »

Jo Wadsworth says...
2:35pm Wed 5 Sep 12

kerryfee wrote:
The picture on this site is showing Dirty dancing not grease.
Hi Kerry,

I thought that too, but I double checked and the film shown was definitely Grease. In the other pictures, the screen is showing much more familiar scenes from the film (but only the backs of viewers' heads are visible, sadly).

Report this post »

tonybee says...
1:40am Thu 6 Sep 12

The Keystone Kops live !!!
Mack Sennet must be turning in his grave.

Report this post »

frowmarket says...
4:13pm Thu 6 Sep 12

Jo Wadsworth wrote:
kerryfee wrote:
The picture on this site is showing Dirty dancing not grease.
Hi Kerry,

I thought that too, but I double checked and the film shown was definitely Grease. In the other pictures, the screen is showing much more familiar scenes from the film (but only the backs of viewers' heads are visible, sadly).
The dirty dancing pic was taken during the preview (trailer) section before the film started!

Report this post »

Nathan_Adler says...
3:43pm Fri 28 Sep 12

Am I the only one who thinks Olivier Newton-John was better looking as the virgin, pure Sandy throughout the film as opposed to the strumpet one clad in leathers at the end?

Report this post »

vogon1 says...
11:23am Thu 4 Oct 12

The blonde in the leather jacket is a bit of a fitty...hubba hubba

Report this post »

click2find

About cookies

We want you to enjoy your visit to our website. That's why we use cookies to enhance your experience. By staying on our website you agree to our use of cookies. Find out more about the cookies we use.

I agree