MORE than 100 revellers took part in an all-night woodland rave which has left a wildlife group distraught.

Staff and volunteers at Worcestershire Wildlife Trust were aghast to find the remnants of the party in Tiddesley Wood nature reserve, near Pershore, on Sunday morning.

More than 100 party-goers were discovered by someone walking her dog through the clearing at 7.30am, who also saw some revellers chasing livestock in a nearby field.

There was a generator and DJ on site while broken glass and rubbish were found strewn across a clearing along with evidence of drug use and smoking paraphernalia.

Bench posts and a wooden walkway had been ripped from the ground and used as firewood for a large bonfire along with damage caused to a sign. About £300 of damage was caused.

The wood is a site of special scientific interest owned by the trust and is popular with dog walkers and families.

Rob Allen, southern reserves manager for the trust, who is responsible for the site, said: “It’s a worry if people are coming out and doing this regularly.

“We’ve got kids walking through and there’s broken glass. We’ve had small parties before but we’ve not seen anything on this scale. It’s a health and safety thing.

“People should keep an eye on what’s going on and if they see or hear anything they should alert the police straight away.”

Police were called on Sunday morning and are investigating the incident after five handbags were stolen, three of which have now been recovered.

PC John Hunter, who is based in Pershore, said: “This was a particularly bad episode and highlights how dangerous these get-togethers can be.

“Our concerns with parties like this are that someone could easily die if they pass out in the undergrowth.

“I would urge anyone who hears or sees anything like this happening to get in touch with the police immediately.”

The trust has decided, for now, it will not close the gate to the car park because they do not want to inconvenience people that visit the nature reserve.

Anyone with information can call police on police on 0300 333 3000 quoting 152-S-160912 or the trust on 01905 754919.

l This is not the first time the Worcestershire countryside has been the scene of an all-night rave. Some 20,000 people descended on Castlemorton Common, near Malvern, for a week-long free festival and rave in 1992.