Arrest after officer assaulted at illegal rave in Rainford

Current rules restrict gatherings to no more than six people in England

A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer at an illegal woodland rave.

Merseyside Police said about 200 people turned up for the party which started in Rainford at 20:00 BST on Friday.

Four men were arrested on suspicion of public order offences and equipment, lighting and lasers were seized.

They included the 24-year-old, from Walton, Liverpool who was arrested on suspicion of assault and suspicion of possession of cocaine.

All four have been released on conditional bail.

A force spokesperson said they found one male with a broken leg and a woman suffered a broken ankle after the party.

Another female suffered burns to her legs.

'Drug misuse'

Officers said they also dealt with 12 people for drugs offences and issued 15 penalty tickets for breaching coronavirus regulations.

"A significant amount of rubbish, alcohol containers and evidence of drug misuse was located at the site," the police spokesperson added.

Current government rules restrict public gatherings to no more than six people in England due to Covid-19.

Ch Supt Ngaire Waine said: "It is clear that the organisers and those attending care very little for public health, the community surrounding them or indeed their own safety.

"Having to deal with these sorts of unnecessary incidents puts an extra strain on both police and our partners at a time when all key workers face a huge challenge to join the national effort to beat this pandemic while continuing to protect the public."