NORTH Yorkshire Police have been blasted for an ‘ineffective response’ to an illegal rave which took place at the weekend.

Settle residents were disturbed for several hours from midnight until 7am by revellers taking part in the rave on the tops above the town towards Long Preston.

Settle resident Dave Kelday said he has made a formal complaint to the police after ringing them several times.

He said: “After having put up with the extreme noise and lack of sleep for four hours I rang the police.

“There was no answer for 10 minutes. Ten minutes? How many people would wait 10 minutes for a reply”

“The woman said the police had been in attendance and the event had been dispersed.

“It clearly hadn’t as I could still hear loud music which was no doubt disturbing half of Settle, frightening animals and upsetting elderly people too.

“My wife and I made three calls and were told when we finally got through that the police were aware.

“ At 4.10am the police told me they had sent someone out.

“At 4.30am I went out to try and locate the source of the nuisance.

“Initial thoughts were that it was from the campers on the rugby club field or from the car-park adjacent but all was quiet in both places.

“I was not the only one out investigating. Unfortunately the police were notable by their absence,” added Mr Kelday.

“Either way the result was the same – no result at all.”

Residents took to social media when the rave got underway.

One wrote: “We had to bring three frightened horses in at 3.45am.

“Got an update from police control at about 9am. The incident was bigger than they could initially control. Assistance came from elsewhere but took a long time to restore order and peace.”

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said: “Officers found around 200 people in a field near a forest on the outskirts of Settle at 4.30am on Sunday, who were playing loud music and many of them had consumed alcohol.

“At around 7am, a larger number of officers attended the scene and dispersed the crowd.

“Road Policing Officers also attended to make checks in and around the area.”

Local Policing Sergeant Paul Evans added: “North Yorkshire Police acknowledges events like this are disruptive to local communities and will cause concern for some members of the public.

“We do, however, have a duty of care to those in attendance at an event like this.

“Dispersing several hundred people in the very early hours in such a rural location is not often the best form of action, as this may pose additional risk and cause more disruption to local residents.

“Police enquiries are ongoing to identify the organisers of this event. Officers are working with Settle Town Council and other partner agencies to identify if any offences have taken place.”