Riot police raid birthday barbecue for ‘all-night’ Facebook tag

Riot police stormed a man’s 30th birthday barbecue for 15 guests because it was advertised as an “all-night” party on Facebook.

Four police cars, a riot van, and a force helicopter were dispatched to a privately-owned field in a small village near Sowton, Devon in the UK on Saturday, ordering the party shut down or everyone would be arrested.

Andrew Poole, a coach driver from Sowton, said his birthday barbecue was busted up before they even had a chance to plug the music in, reports the BBC.

“What effectively the police did was come in and stop 15 people eating burgers,” Poole said.

The event was shuttered under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, which grants police powers to remove persons attending or preparing for a “rave” (defined as playing amplified music “wholly or predominantly characterised by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats,” during the night).

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