POLICE have said they want to prosecute the organisers of an illegal rave close to the Welsh border in Herefordshire.

West Mercia Police has been in Dorstone since the early hours of Sunday morning after a rave was organised near to the rural Golden Valley village.

Local residents heard the first cars arriving just after midnight, and revellers stayed on Vagar Hill throughout much of the day on Sunday.

West Mercia Police has now said that all party-goers have been dispersed, and officers have gathered evidence with a view to identify and prosecute the organisers.

Mass gatherings, such as the rave on the Herefordshire-Powys border, are currently illegal during the coronavirus pandemic, and organisers can be fined £10,000.

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The south local policing priority team from West Mercia Police said they were called to the illegal Vagar Hill rave, along with officers from Hereford police station, including the operations patrol unit.

Shortly after 6.30pm on Sunday, officers said all attendees had been dispersed and the sound equipment which had been used to play music throughout the night was dismantled and seized.

They added evidence had been captured to identify the organisers of the rave for prosecution.

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The chair of Dorstone Parish Council said hundreds of people had arrived in the village overnight. He said some had used their own cars, but others had been dropped off by taxis.

He said few problems had been reported in the village itself, but feared human waste, littering and sheep scaring could be a problem.

Coun Tony Usher also asked villagers, many of whom are elderly and had been shielding due to Covid-19, to stay away from the revellers who had reportedly travelled from as far as Scotland, Manchester and Cornwall.