# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
CROYDON RAVE - 14TH JUNE 2014 - VALHALLA, ART OF PSY, RUM & BASS: RETURN OF THE RAVE PART 2

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Revellers smashed up a former Royal Mail delivery office in Croydon during an illegal rave.

Missiles, including furniture and fire extinguishers, were reportedly thrown at police when they arrived to shut down the event.

Thousands of party-goers descended upon the venue in east Croydon at around 9pm last night.

At least two people were arrested for disorder related offences.

Police called for back from across London, but at 11pm the decision was made to allow the rave to continue to avoid any further trouble.

The event, which was held in the old Royal Mail delivery office on Cherry Orchard Road, went on until the early hours of the morning, with many inside reporting serious damage to the building.

Police said officers eventually entered the building at 08:30.

The area around the building, which is located opposite East Croydon station, was cordoned off this morning. Trams are not currently running through the station.

Croydon Central MP Gavin Barwell said those responsible should "feel the full force of the law".

Writing on his blog, Mr Barwell said that police found around 200 people inside, and a further 300 outside, when first called to the building at 9pm.

He added: "As police sought to secure the building in an attempt to prevent further attendance, the crowd outside rapidly swelled to excess of 1,000.

"At this point additional police resources were requested from across London.

"Within 30 minutes the crowd had doubled and was increasing further with every train that arrived at East Croydon station.

"Officers became the focal point of the crowd's frustration and missiles began to be thrown at the police.

"This then escalated to fire extinguishers and furniture being thrown from the building at the officers below."

The delivery office was closed earlier this year after planning permission was given to turn it into flats.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Croydon rave: Thousands of revellers smash up former Royal Mail

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Revellers smashed up a former Royal Mail delivery office in Croydon during an illegal rave. Missiles, including furniture and fire extinguishers, were reportedly thrown at police when they arrived to shut down the event. Thousands of party-goers descended upon the venue in east Croydon at around 9pm last night.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
(Image: Metropolitan Police)

Police want to speak to these seven men in connection with the illegal rave in Croydon at which a teenager died.

Rio Andrew, 15, died after reportedly ingesting beer mixed with ketamine.

He was among 2,000 revellers who descended on a disused sorting office in Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, in the early hours of Sunday.

Rio, from Notting Hill in London, had gone to the party with a group of friends when he collapsed, and he died in hospital on Monday. A 19-year-old remains in hospital after also falling ill.

Scotland Yard have appealed for seven men visible in CCTV images to come forward, as they believe they might hold information about disorder during and after the rave.

Police stressed that they did not believe any of the men were involved in Rio's death.

Commander Simon Letchford said: "The behaviour of some of those attending this illegal rave and the direct attacks on officers who were there to maintain public safety is completely unacceptable. We will identify all those responsible and bring them to justice."

Some 14 people have been arrested in connection with the rave, nine during the event itself.

Police made five arrests today for handling stolen goods and criminal damage offences in connection with the investigation. All remain in custody.

Two men have been charged with violent disorder and drugs offences, while men aged 47 and 30 were cautioned for possessing class A drugs.

Three men were arrested on suspicion of money laundering, a 17-year-old was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and a 22-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of criminal damage. All five have been released on bail pending further inquiries.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Croydon rave: Seven men wanted by police over illegal party where teen died

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Police want to speak to these seven men in connection with the illegal rave in Croydon at which a teenager died. Rio Andrew, 15, died after reportedly ingesting beer mixed with ketamine. He was among 2,000 revellers who descended on a disused sorting office in Cherry Orchard Road, Croydon, in the early hours of Sunday.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On Saturday evening, thousands of people turned up to a party in Croydon. The problem was, the venue for the rave - a disused Royal Mail sorting office - could only accommodate a few hundred, leaving the majority of those pouring out of the train station to either stand around outside, drinking beers and smoking weed, or try to force their way into the party. Before long, the police showed up, tried to control the situation, had "missiles" pelted at them, gave up and resolved to just stand guard until everyone had cleared off.

The following day it was reported that a number of people had been taken to hospital, either because of illness or injuries. Tragically, one of those taken sick - 15-year-old Rio Andrew - passed away on Monday. Police have suggested that his death may have had something to do with drugs.

Another partier to leave the rave in an ambulance was 16-year-old "Josh", who lost most of his left pinkie halfway through the night. I gave him and his friend "Fraser" - who was with him at the time - a call to find out exactly what happened.

VICE: Hey guys. So how did you hear about the rave?
Josh: I basically knew quite a few people going, so I thought it was going to be pretty legit. It was a good night - I'm not going to lie. I enjoyed what I had of it, but it wasn't really worth the hassle of getting there and stuff.

How many people do you reckon were there?
Fraser: I reckon about 4,000 turned up, which is a lot compared to other raves I've been to. The promoters always have a good turnout, though. We hated the venue - it was over-hyped. The stairs were constantly packed and the drum 'n' bass room was too small.

How was it trying to get into the venue?
Well, everyone found out about the venue and got a train there, and the station is really close to the post office. This was at about 10.30 or 11PM, and that's when the crowds gathered and the police came.

The photo that Josh uploaded to Instagram from his hospital bed

What were the crowd like?
Some of them were throwing missiles at the police, and me and my friends didn't want to get hit so we started walking backwards away from it. That's when we saw people in the rave shouting, "Go around the side!" When we got there, there were people climbing over the fence trying to get in and kicking down the wooden fences. Luckily we got in through a side door. Police were everywhere, to be honest, and they were quite violent at times - I saw one raver being jumped on and kneed in the chest when he was detained.

But they let the party carry on for a bit, right?
Yeah, but that was after a solid half-hour to an hour of trying to stop people from getting into the rave. Then they realised that if they did hold everyone for any longer, it could turn into a riot. They stayed outside the building for the whole night to make sure there was no trouble.
J: No one had any bad intentions; they just wanted to get into the rave. The police don't understand the mentality - we just want to get inside, hear the music, have our night and go home.

So what happened with your finger, Josh?
Well, at about 1AM we were up in the house room, but I don't really like house so I was waiting for the drum 'n' bass to kick in. As soon as I heard it, me and my mate went down there. Five minutes in, the fire alarm starting going off and everyone was like, "Rip it off! Rip it off!" So I thought I'd give it a go. I was completely sober at the time. I jumped up, grabbed it and my little finger got caught in the case because it was all broken, and as I came to rip it back down, my little finger got ripped off completely.

Josh's destroyed little finger

Jesus. What did you do next?
I looked at my hand and my little finger was gone - the bone was sticking out. It's the weirdest feeling; one second you're fine and your little finger is there, and the next second it's gone. It shoves reality up your backside. I was in so much pain and shock that the first thing that hit my head was the beat and the bass. The bass was hard, so I just ripped off my top, wrapped it around my finger and tied it up as tight as I could and skanked it out for half an hour. My mentality was, 'I've only been here for an hour, I've paid £10 for this night, I've lost my little finger - am I seriously going to go? Nah, I'm going to skank until I can't skank any more.' After that, my mate dragged me down to the paramedics.

What did they say?
I said to him, "Is there any chance you can bandage it up and I can just rave on?" He was like, "Nah, you're going to hospital, mate." There was also a chance of septicaemia because of the dirt, so he got some medical acid, poured it right onto the finger and all the flesh around it melted right in front of my eyes. That was the worst pain I've ever felt in my life.

I can't believe you carried on dancing in the first place.
Well, what can you do? There are fit girls around you, the bass is hard, the music is popping. I didn't want to be the sore thumb sticking out - or the sore pinkie - so I was like, "Fuck it, let's skank on and enjoy it."

A photo Fraser took of the crowd assembled outside

And what happened to your severed finger?
It pinged off into the crowd. I got told later that a bunch of stoners found my little finger and were playing catch with it.

What happens now?
Basically, it's just gone, innit. I've just got a little stump left. What can I do? The person in the ambulance asked me, "What are you going to do, mate?" I was just like, "Shit happens." It's nothing, really - I've lost one little finger, while a 15-year-old boy has lost his life. What am I complaining about? My heart goes out to his friends and family. It's heartbreaking.

Yeah, that was tragic news. So has everything that happened that night put you off raving in the future?
No. The next rave is in July - you'll see me there. Raving isn't a dangerous thing. Obviously accidents do happen, but there are people around you 24/7 who are willing to help. It's a calm environment; everyone's just there to enjoy themselves.

Thanks, guys.

@chemsquier

More stories about raves:

A Petition to Legalise Free Parties in the UK Has Almost Hit Its Target

I Used My Stockmarket Millions to Throw Raves and Sell Drugs

Rave and Hardcore YouTube Comments Will Restore Your Faith in Humanity

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
I Lost My Finger at the East Croydon Rave

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On Saturday evening, thousands of people turned up to a party in Croydon. The problem was, the venue for the rave - a disused Royal Mail sorting office - could only accommodate a few hundred, leaving the majority of those pouring out of the train station to either stand around outside, drinking beers and smoking weed, or try to force their way into the party.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A teenager who died after attending an illegal rave in south London was an "exceptional sportsman" and "destined for academic success", his school said.

Rio Andrew, 15, who attended Holland Park School, in Kensington, died on Monday after falling ill in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The event at a disused sorting office on Cherry Orchard Road, in East Croydon, was attended by 1,300 people.

Police believe Rio's death was drug-related but are awaiting test results.

The school said it "deeply regrets this sad loss of a much respected student".

'Exceptional sportsman'

"Rio was an able scholar, destined for academic success," the school's statement said.

"He was also an exceptional sportsman and due to be awarded this Friday, a prestigious sports award.

"The school wishes to send its collective sympathies and respect to all of Rio's family and friends. He will be greatly missed by the school community."

Rio, who was a member of the Thames Valley Harriers athletics club, was the English Schools under-15 shot put champion in 2013. The club said it was in "great shock" at the news of his death.

Commander Simon Letchford, of the Met Police, confirmed that police believed Rio had taken drugs before his death.

He said: "We've got a number of lines of inquiry that we're following but we believe he's taken some sort of drug that's had an adverse effect on him."

The force has also launched an inquiry into the handling of intelligence about the party after information was received, but not acted upon.

In a statement, the Met Police said: "We received a single piece of intelligence on 5 June to suggest that an event may take place at the location on 14 June, although no time was indicated when this would take place.

"The information was reviewed by a local intelligence officer, but no further action was taken. We are now conducting an internal review into how this intelligence was handled."

The leader of Croydon Council, Tony Newman, said: "The understanding in Croydon is that information was not passed on to the local police.

"We need to understand the information flow that is taking place in the Met - whether it's Croydon or anywhere else - we simply can't have a similar event taking place."

A 19-year-old man, who was also taken ill at the event, remains in hospital in a stable condition. Six other people who were taken to hospital have been discharged.

Mr Newman said the Royal Mail, which owns the disused sorting office, had a responsibility to secure it.

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said the company had contacted the police after squatters entered the building last week.

"Given events over the weekend, we yesterday sought an emergency court order to remove the squatters, and this has been granted," it said.

He added that all the squatters had left the building and the premises had been made secure.

A total of 14 people have been arrested in connection with the event, police said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A teenager who died after attending an illegal rave in south London was an "exceptional sportsman" and "destined for academic success", his school said. Rio Andrew, 15, who attended Holland Park School, in Kensington, died on Monday after falling ill in the early hours of Sunday morning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Four people were taken to hospital and nine others arrested at an illegal rave attended by more than 1,000 people in south London.

The window of a police van was smashed and missiles thrown at officers during the party at a disused building on Cherry Orchard Road, in East Croydon.

More than 1,000 people were gathered outside the venue and up to 300 partygoers were estimated to be inside.

Gavin Barwell, MP for Croydon Central, said the disruption was "unacceptable".

Further arrests

Officers on routine patrol noticed large numbers of people going towards the unlicensed party at about 21:40 BST on Saturday.

They called for additional help and cordoned off the area to stop "dangerously large numbers of people" from getting in, but the some in the crowd became violent, the police said.

Two people were arrested on suspicion of violent disorder and are being held at a south London police station.

Seven others were also arrested in connection with violent disorder, drugs offences and money laundering.

The Met Police said they expected to make further arrests "as a result of evidence gathered during the police operation overnight and at the scene".

One person with head injuries and another person suffering a hand injury were taken to a south London hospital.

Inspector Dave Sutton, from Croydon Police, said: "Although the decision was taken to allow the event to continue while preventing further large numbers of people from gaining entry, police in Croydon will not tolerate violent disorder in any form."

Jerome, who did not want to give his full name but went to the rave, said: "It was chaos, people were screaming and throwing things out of the windows."

'Safety risk'

Two other people were also taken to hospital for treatment after becoming unwell.

London Ambulance also attended the incident and paramedics treated seven people at the scene.

Police said officers entered the building at 08:30 BST.

Mr Barwell said the party posed a safety risk as he believed there was only one entrance and exit.

"It is clearly unacceptable to have a situation where people are allowed to occupy a building, disrupt the whole public transport system and keep a lot of the people that live in the area up all night," the Conservative MP said.

"I'm all for people having a good time but it has to be in a safe environment."

Tram services at East Croydon station were disrupted by the incident and road closures have been in place.

Croydon Council leader Tony Newman said a clear-up operation was under way to make the building safe.

"I would like to reassure residents the illegal rave which took place in Croydon overnight has been contained, and thanks to the efforts of the police there were no serious injuries to contend with," he said.

He added the council was discussing responsibility for security of the site with Royal Mail.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Four people were taken to hospital and nine others arrested at an illegal rave attended by more than 1,000 people in south London. The window of a police van was smashed and missiles thrown at officers during the party at a disused building on Cherry Orchard Road, in East Croydon.