Eclipse Party : The Western Morning News version
mail me if you have ANYTHING to say

in the beginning

the party itself

after the bash

some cartoons

newspaper accounts

other accounts

assoc. links

main page

Western Morning News, 11th August 1999.

Plain Text Version

Children caught up in Festival Violence.

Three children were treated for the effects of  CS spray as 200 missile   throwing travellers clashed with 100 riot police assisting council staff to seize music equipment from an illegal eclipse rave in  Cornwall.
  A four year old boy named Jake, his 10 year old sister Opie and another child had their eyes washed by ambulance paramedics following yesterdays' clash at Trefullock Moor, near Summercourt, Newquay.
  Six staff employed  by Restormel Borough Council and two police also needed hospital treatment before four hours of angry confrontation and tense standoffs ended with police withdrawing from the site.
  Helmet  clad council staff and police were pelted with stones, wood, mud and paint, with police using their riot shields, batons and CS spray to protect themselves .
  While supporters of the Manchester  organised "Midday Mooners" festival accused Devon and Cornwall Police of being provocative and heavy handed, residents angered by the festival noise applauded their intervention.
  Last night it was feared that the polices'  high profile Operation Genesis, with the media invited to watch, had been a failure as the music started up again.
  The council acted yesterday, after receiiving many complaints about excessive noise from residents in the parishes of St Enoder, St Stephen and Probus.
  Former  Army officer Ian Kyle-Milward, of Trefullock, said, "We've had to endure a succession of sleepless nights.  The noise has been absolutely deafening."
  The marshland meadows , where yesterday's skirmishes broke out, are owned by Bodmin businessman Jenti Madhvanti.  It is understood some young men from mid Cornwall hired the land from him to stage an eclipse party.
  But instead, about 1000 people paying 35 pounds for their tickets converged on Trefullock from all over England after being falsely infrormed by organisers that it had a public entertainments licence.
  Those organisers, from Manchester, lost complete control on Saturday night when a convoy of travellers turned away from an encampment at St Agnes Head, near Truro, came up the A30 and stormed the Trefullock site.
  As the council and police action began at noon yesterday, there were at least seven seperate sound systems spread around the Trefullock meadow and marshland.
  The authorities concentrated their efforts on reaching an open tent about 30 yards inside the main entrance and capturing a high powered "techno" music system.
  But as they headed back towards a 20 strong convoy of police and council vans parked out on the Laddock - Fraddon road they were pelted with missiles by travellers who recaptured some equipment.
  Some police struck out with batons and sprayed their attackers with protective CS spray.
  A traveller named Justin alleged : " I was sitting in my van and realised that my four year old boy, Jake was outside.  I ran out to grab him and saw police gassing him in the face.
  " My ten year old daughter Opie also got gassed and also got treated by the ambulance men."
  Festival organiser Duncan said :"I have spent about 7000 pounds on renting fields, twenty toilets and paying for an ambulance, fire cover and security.  I advertised the event on the internet and was
expecting  500 - 800 people."
  Devon and Cornwall Chief Constable John Evans said the aim of the operation was not to evict festival goers but to support the Council, which wanted to seize a main sound system.  Two noise abatement notices issued over the previous two nights had been ignored.