Nurse Forced To Clean Up After 1,000 Person Street Rave On Her Day Off
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A nurse was forced to spend her day off cleaning up after a 1,000-person street rave.
The booze-fuelled event saw hundreds of people descend on the road where infectious disease nurse Al lives, where they partied, drank, took drugs and left behind piles of litter.
After weeks of tough shifts at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, Al had been looking forward to a rare weekend off.
But her plans for a relaxing day were scuppered when the mother of all parties collected around a takeaway on her street, Sydenham Road.
As word of the rave broke on social media, the numbers of attendees soared, and several street DJs and rappers turned up.
Upset that the young rave-goers were not following social distancing measures, Al and her partner Sam, both 30, called police a total of six times.
However, they didn't arrive, and the event went on until the early hours of the morning, meaning Al and her neighbours got very little sleep.
"It was like there was no pandemic, I was just really disappointed with people," said Al.
"With the recent Black Lives Matter movement, we have been really proud of Bristol.
"People have been protesting and much of it was done in a socially distanced, safe way.
"We are in a pandemic. Everyone is fed up with it but it has been devastating for some people."
Al was so hurt by the event that she wore her nurse's uniform during the clean-up operation on Sunday to make a point.
Joining her neighbours, she is pictured scooping rubbish into bin bags.
She said: "We all want to have fun, but we have to think about the bigger picture and other people and that's what annoyed me.
"I have seen people die from it. After it's gone we will have the biggest street party ever, but right now we have to hold it together."
Al was particularly upset to discover that someone living nearby had joined the party, which motivated her to wear her uniform all the more.
"I wanted to make them feel guilty," she said.
It took several hours to clean up the mess of litter, tin cans, smashed glass and nitrous oxide canisters left behind on the terraced street.
Al's partner Sam said: "The party just grew and grew. It was like a rave basically.
"There was no social distancing going on. There were people fighting, taking drunks and urinating in people's doorways.
"I'm very aware of the devastating effects that something like this could have on the NHS.
"It was really annoying. My girlfriend was really upset. She called police when she realised it was a big gathering with no social distancing.
"The blatant disregard for safety was hard to watch. Police didn't even turn up, they just drove past."
Al has been an infectious disease nurse since she graduated and has worked in Africa, the Philippines and Nepal and in refugee camps in Greece.
Avon and Somerset Police have come under fire for not clearing the revellers.
A police spokeswoman said: "We are reviewing the appropriateness of our response to two calls received around 4pm regarding a possible party being organised at Sydenham Road, and whether this presented any opportunities to review our procedures.
"When we had complaints at about 5.30pm regarding noise nuisance in Sydenham Road and in Narroways Road, St Werburgh's, officers were unable to attend immediately due to the number of live incidents across Bristol, including assaults, collisions, domestic abuse, concern for welfare and missing people, in many cases with a significant risk of someone coming to physical harm.
"As further calls came in from 7.30pm there were already significant numbers at each location."
She added: "For the safety of all involved, due to the potential for serious disorder, it was decided to focus on preventing further attendance at the events rather than attempting to seize the sound system."