The police are to deploy drones over a car meet planned in Wiltshire this weekend.
The ‘massive’ Halloween Car Meet Mashup is due to take place somewhere in the county on Saturday 28 October, with at least ten different car groups involved.
At a meet in Swindon in September, a driver performing doughnuts slammed into the crowd and injured several people – sparking an investigation.
500 people gathered for that event on Hawksworth Industrial Estate, but the upcoming meet is likely to involve substantially more people and vehicles.
The location of the unauthorised event won’t be revealed until the day to ensure Wiltshire Police and the local council can’t shut it down before it begins.
The force said that it will be using CCTV and drones to monitor the meet and take action against anyone committing crimes – which includes traffic offences.
In a statement, a spokesperson said: “We are aware of plans for a potential car meet due to take place in Wiltshire this weekend and we are putting plans in place to be able to respond appropriately.
“We understand the vast majority of those people who attend these events do so to engage with other like-minded car enthusiasts and we do not intend on preventing these individuals from meeting in a safe environment.
“However, recent events of this nature have involved a number of individuals acting in an anti-social manner, with a collision reported at one and a number of police cars damaged. This behaviour will not be tolerated.
“We will be working closely with the local authorities to ensure we have appropriate plans and mitigations in place to help keep the public safe, and we will be using a range of tactics including the use of CCTV and drones.
“We would urge those taking part to adhere to road traffic laws and we will take action against anyone found to be breaching these laws.
“As always, we will be closely monitoring any gatherings in the county and would urge members of the public to report any concerns to us immediately.”
