Discarded knives found after police are called in to contain ‘hostile’ Dulwich rave that got out of hand

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents of a quiet Dulwich street woke to find knives and nitrous oxide canisters in their front gardens after an all night party at a house on their road.

Hundreds of young revellers descended on the property on Tulsemere Road in West Dulwich in the early hours of July 6, causing some people living on the suburban street to suffer a disturbed night’s sleep.

Neighbours said the party was only closed down after around 25 police officers created a human wall in front of the house, stopping party goers from re-entering the house. One neighbour, who spoke anonymously, said he was kept up until 4:30am due to the disturbance.

He said: “A lot of residents stayed up because we were worried about our properties and cars. We spent the whole night peering out from our curtains.

“There was a line of six or seven cars in the road and the doors open and people taking nos [nitrous oxide] in the street. I had never seen anything like that. A couple of neighbours had knives on their front porches [the next morning].”

He added: “People were taunting the police and any time the police did anything they got their phones out and stuck them in their face. There was a two hour period of shutting down the party.

“They got two police vans and there were around 25 officers in front of the house. They didn’t arrest anyone and they didn’t touch anyone and they created a perimeter around the front of the house.”

Another resident described the atmosphere as hostile. Speaking anonymously, she said: “The whole back garden on the property was full of people and it was really aggressive. It took 25 officers to remove 200 people from our road. Neighbours are now finding knives in their front gardens.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love a rave. But they know that if they outnumber the police, they can do anything.”

According to Land Registry documents, the property where the party took place was bought by Alastair James Alderton in October 2021 for £750,000. Mr Alderton, a fund manager who lives locally, was approached for comment but he did not reply.

Lambeth council, which deals with noise complaints in the area, said it had issued a community protection notice warning.

A council spokesperson added: “We are monitoring this location and have been in dialogue with the owner to ensure that this type of event doesn’t happen again. We are liaising with the local residents to provide assurance, and we will continue to support the police with any follow up actions.”

The Met has been approached for a comment.