PURBECK police mounted a sting operation to stop an illegal "rave" taking place in a quiet corner of Worth Matravers.

The Back to Basics rave, was due to take place during the early morning of Saturday, September 29, until the police saw it advertised on the internet.

Organisers of the rave in the cave at Winspit Quarry, the Funkbarrons, came face to face with Operation Off Limits, which involved officers from the Purbeck force and Police Support Units being deployed to wait for the party-goers.

Five men in their 20s and 30s were arrested for possession of drugs, conspiracy to cause a public nuisance by means of holding an illegal rave and they were released on police bail, Purbeck section commander, Inspector Ashley Adams, who co-ordinated Operation Off Limits, said: "We seized sound equipment and generators when some of them turned up.

"Later on the same day, some people tried to go ahead with the rave but they couldn't because they didn't have any sound equipment.

"We were mindful that in the past, large raves with between 800 to 1,000 people had led to complaints about human faeces, sex acts in public, drunkenness and drugs from people living near to the location.

"It caused incredible disruption to people in Worth Matravers in terms of noise, which could also cause falling rocks which could be fatal.

"Also there were a lot of people standing very close to the cliff edge and if they fell they would die, as simple as that."

The police posted signs saying the rave would not be taking place as scheduled and letters were posted to residents asking them to be vigilant of future "unusual activity" in the area.

Bill Davidson, Environmental Services officer with Purbeck District Council, said: "The police let us know about it after discovering the organiser's plans on the internet, so we got in touch with the land owners.

"The police took over and they were very proactive. We are very pleased they did what they did."