Illegal rave organisers succesfully prosecuted
Published by Chelmsford Borough Council – Monday 21 April, 2003
Copyright: Chelmsford Borough Council
CHELMSFORD Borough Council has successfully prosecuted two Earls Colne men for their involvement in an illegal rave at Montrose Road, Chelmsford on 20 and 21 April last year.
Mathew Clague and Mathew Moore pleaded guilty at Witham Magistrates Court yesterday, Wednesday 19 February, to the offence of ‘being concerned in the organisation or management of a public entertainment event without a public entertainment licence’. They were each fined £750 and ordered to each pay £750 costs.
Chelmsford Borough Council decided to prosecute after receiving evidence that the conditions in the premises were totally unsafe. Essex Police and Essex Fire and Rescue Service, who went to the warehouse (formerly occupied by A-Z Supplies), found that there was no lighting in the premises, no lit means of escape, no staff to supervise an emergency evacuation and no first aid facilities. In addition, the mezzanine floor, which was in the process of being dismantled, was found to be unbolted and completely free standing.
Chelmsford Borough Council’s Commercial Services Manager, Dawn French said: “We took this action to protect public safety. The event could so easily have ended in disaster. If something had gone wrong, like the mezzanine collapsing, revellers could have been killed.”
