Met officers from Lambeth and Southwark, working with Southwark Council’s Wildlife Department, have found and seized equipment that could have been used to hold an Unlicensed Music Event (UME) in a disused railway tunnel in Dulwich Wood.

When officers and council officials attended on Wednesday, 6 January, they found locks on the gates. Upon forcing entry, they found sound equipment, barriers, a temporary bar and a DJ table all set up.

There was also a large black curtain obscuring the entrance so the event would not have been visible.

The equipment was seized and has been taken to a police station.

Police Sergeant Jonathan Adams, who covers the Dulwich Safer Neighbourhoods Wards, said: “This old railway tunnel was known to us as a place where people were holding UMEs and most likely spreading Covid and putting themselves and others at risk.

“Not only would they have angered local residents by hosting this illegal event, but the tunnel is a protective site for bats, proving that UMEs don’t only disrupt humans, but also the local and unique wildlife that live there.”

Cllr Evelyn Akoto, Cabinet Member for Public Health & Community Safety, said: “I’m horrified that anyone would have such little regard for themselves or others, that they’d attend an illegal rave at the height of a pandemic.

“We continue to support the police in finding and shutting down locations where illegal raves might be held. Only by working together can we prevent such dangerous, thoughtless and illegal events from happening.”