AN illegal rave held in a secluded area of Lancashire countryside was stopped by police this morning.

Officers became aware of the open-air music event after complaints from residents about dance music coming from Lever Castle, Rivington.

Police from both Lancashire and Greater Manchester received six complaints last night.

And when officers arrived they discovered 400 people had attended event.

More people contacted the police this morning to complain.

The rave, which is understood to be named Daylight Robbery, was advertised on internet social networking site Facebook under a group named Rivington Castle Illegal Rave.

Police said it started at midnight on Saturday and officers cleared the area by 8am this morning.

Two people were arrested for public order offences and officers were investigating a number of minor criminal offences.

Inspector Nick Williams-Jones said: “Lancashire Police dealt with an unauthorised open air music event in Rivington, near Chorley.

“It is estimated 400 persons were in attendance.”

He added that disruption to the local community had been limited to an extent because of the isolated location of the event.

Chief Inspector for Chorley and South Ribble, Richard Robertshaw, said: “We are aware this event caused some disruption to local residents.

I would like to reassure them that we are working with the local authority as part of a joint investigation to identify the organisers.”

The event was described on Facebook as the “first but hopefully never the last rave that was at Rivington Lower Castle”.

The site said: “Lights, speakers, decks – hey, even police helicopters!

"Lots of people all got along, no trouble whatsoever, there was no need for police to be there as everyone shook hands and had a good time.”

Rivington Castle, or Lever Castle as it is also known, was built from 1912, a year after Lever Park opened.

The construction of the castle was abandoned in 1925 after Lord Leverhulme’s death and stands unfinished in the grounds.

Building progress was slow as only a small group of stonemasons and labourers worked on the building.