POLICE have now arrested nine people in connection with an ‘illegal rave’ at the former Stillingfleet Mine on Saturday night into Sunday morning.

The nine, all men in their 20s and 30s, have been released on bail while police enquiries continue.

North Yorkshire police have confirmed that, over the weekend, some officers were deployed to London to help out with policing the Coronation celebrations.

But a spokesperson insisted: “This wouldn’t affect our deployment to Stillingfleet in any way.”

As reported in The Press, police seized and impounded several vans full of music equipment just after 1pm on Sunday, following reports of an illegal rave at the former mine site on Saturday night though into Sunday morning.

They say the overnight rave involved loud music, drug use and disorder.

One Stillingfleet resident who contacted The Press said the music had started just before midnight and continued all night and into the morning. There were also cars racing through the village, she said.

She said neighbours who went down to the site reported 'two massive stages, about 1,000 people there, most under the influence of drink or drugs.'

"Most people living nearby have been trying to cope today (Sunday) after little or no sleep," she added.

Another local who contacted the newspaper on Sunday added: "The traffic during the night has been awful. Those of us in the village have had no sleep. My son could hear it in Barlby and friends in Wheldrake too.

"The music started at 10.30pm and was still thumping at nearly 8am."

An eye-witness posted on social media that at one point there had been ‘hundreds and hundreds of people, event organisers, you name it.’

The eye-witness added: “Most people we’ve chatted to have been friendly and pleasant, but of course as always there are some that are being unpleasant and threatening.”

Police said on Sunday: “The impact on the local community and the risk to those present due to the derelict nature of the site were clearly unacceptable.

“While this was a challenging incident to deal with – not least because of the sheer volume of people in attendance – we’re extremely grateful to local residents for their patience.

“The local Neighbourhood Policing Team will be visible in the area in the coming days, to provide reassurance to the local community and ensure there is no further disruption.”