POLICE in Essex broke up an illegal Boxing Day rave before it had even started.

Officers turned up at a pre-arranged meeting point, just off the A13 in the London borders, to intercept people and tell them the event would not be taking place.

Police used intelligence and the internet to identify the meeting point, where revellers gather to be given the location, which police say was in the Chelmsford area.

Essex Police, working with colleagues from Kent and Norfolk, warned organisers that the event was illegal and would be prevented. Chief Superintendent Tim Stokes said: “These events are dangerous and disrupt communities so we will not tolerate them in Essex.

“The locations where people hold these illegal gathering are usually dangerous and put people’s lives at risk.

“There will be no fire safety equipment, no checks that the place is safe and no licensing so we are determined to prevent them to protect the public.”