AN old saying has it that one person's freedom to swing their arm ends at the tip of another person's nose.

Likewise, one's freedom to hold a rave, especially an illegal one, ends the moment anybody else is inconvenienced.

And a whole lot of people were inconvenienced over the weekend when ravers arrived unbidden on land near Foxhill. Allowed to stay for fear that they would cause property damage, the 2,000-strong mob proceeded to damage property anyway, as well as leaving piles of filth and bringing chaos to innocent families' lives.

The police point out, with justification, that they were short of officers because of a search for a missing person and the need to police a football match where trouble was a possibility.

However, there are clear laws regarding trespass in this country, and the least taxpayers can expect is that they should be enforced even if it means bringing in reinforcements from as far afield as necessary.

The organisers of events such as the one which besmirched the area around Foxhill at the weekend are not altruistic hippies.

They are selfish, uncaring people whose sole concern is money.

They deserve about as much mercy and understanding as they show the innocent.