An estimated 200 people broke lockdown to attend an illegal rave in Bathgate, West Lothian, on Saturday, June 6.
Emergency services were called to the site of Bangour Hospital, an old psychiatric hospital that has been disused since 2004, at around 10:30pm following reports of a fire.
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The rave is said to have started in the nearby hills, before some attendees headed down to the hospital to vandalise and torch it.
The Daily Record reports one local said: “They’ve destroyed the entire site. Every single window has been smashed, furniture thrown out of the windows, the church has been smashed to pieces, fires were set. There were literally queues to get into the buildings.”
Another added: “It was set alight and smashed up. There was a huge police and fire response.”
Three people aged 23, 23 and 24 were arrested and charged with vandalism at the hospital on Friday, the day before the fire was set.
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Chief Inspector Alun Williams, area commander for West Lothian, said: “We are aware of reports about people entering the Bangour Hospital site and I would encourage people not to do this.
“There are derelict buildings on the site which aren’t safe for visitors - potentially taking emergency services away from other duties, and there are parking issues and concerns affecting the local community. A fire was reported on Saturday night which we responded to alongside the fire service.
“The regulations remain that people should only leave the house for very limited purposes, for example for basic necessities, for exercise or recreation, for medical needs or travelling for work which cannot be done from home.
“We are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of these measures is to aid the collective effort to protect the NHS and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading.”
[Via:]
Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Features Editor, follow him on Twitter
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