Illegal rave causes huge damage to Welsh hill farm

An illegal rave on a South Wales hill farm has caused severe damage to the land and livestock, leaving the family to pay for the clear-up.

Helen Howells, who farms beef and sheep with her husband David and son Jack at Gelli farm in the Afan valley, was notified that an illegal rave was unfolding on their mountain as neighbours saw the light on the Bwlch on Saturday (18 October).

More than 800 people, from as far as London and Bristol, travelled to the site by car and taxi, on the outskirts of Port Talbot, leaving South Wales Police powerless to move them on.

See also: Landowner to beef up security after illegal rave

“These people have ruined our farm. The mess is unbelievable.

“And we’re only just starting to see the full extent as the fog is clearing,” said Mrs Howells.

This is the second time the family has had to deal with an illegal rave on their land and are once again left to foot the bill for the clear-up.

“We have suffered severe damage to the land, some of our sheep are injured.

A wind turbine was damaged during the illegal rave © Helen Howells

“And they also damaged one of our wind turbines. The cost will be huge,” added Mrs Howells.

Three lorries

The rave, spread out across three wind turbine pads, was more akin to a festival site with three lorries blasting music across the site.

“You could hear the music from the mountain in the village.

“The people really didn’t care and were high on drugs and alcohol.

“It’s so upsetting. Running a hill farm is tough enough,” she told Farmers Weekly.

But she did praise the police for their support. “Short of calling in the army, there was not much they could do.

“They were stopping more cars going in, taking all the car registrations and were breathalysing people as they tried to leave in the morning.

“I’m grateful for the support we had from them, but what a waste of resources,” she added.

An armchair was dumped at the site after the rave © Helen Howells

The family is now getting stuck into clearing up the aftermath.

This includes old cars, tents, chairs and sofas, as well as helium canisters and balloons spread across the mountain.

Cars and tents were left in the fields © Helen Howells

“We will have to look at other security measures and are considering forestry-style barriers.

“These are expensive, but I don’t want to go through this again,” said Mrs Howells, who was grateful for the help offered by their local community.

Police advice

South Wales Police added their advice to farmers is to ensure that their land is secure and to make contact with the police as soon as it becomes apparent that their land has been compromised by individuals.

“Our neighbourhood officers are available to assist with crime prevention advice,” said acting chief inspector Nia Lambley.

“Unlicensed music events are unlawful. This event has caused distress and disruption to local residents and in this case farm animals too.

“These type of events often don’t have plans to keep people safe as demonstrated with this event where most of the attendees had not made contingency plans – many people didn’t have suitable clothing, didn’t know the area and had made no provision for their own wellbeing and therefore rendered themselves vulnerable and at risk of harm,” she added.

South Wales Police added that they will be working with the landowners to identify all damage caused and ensure a thorough investigation and support any prevention to stop this happening again to the landowners.