Mother's plea after party chaos

The mother of a girl whose birthday party was gatecrashed by up to 2,000 revellers after a "shout out" on Radio 1 has urged the BBC to review policy.
Youngsters caused damage estimated at tens of thousands of pounds to the Brooks family's grade-II listed mansion on the outskirts of Dartmoor, Devon.

The party at Colehayes Park, Bovey Tracey, was stormed after details were put on the web and Pete Tong's R1 show.

The BBC said the name and address of the venue had not been specified.


Sarah Brooks was expecting about 100 invited guests at her 18th birthday party on Friday night, but several hundred turned up.

Four bouncers hired by Sarah's father Reg to protect the family's huge property were overwhelmed by the gatecrashers.

Sarah's mother, Rebecca Brooks, described the event as "terrifying".

She said: "Bottles and cans were strewn from the house to the village, which is two miles away."

Officers from Devon and Cornwall Police, who eventually cleared the mansion house using dogs, were pelted with glass by the drunken revellers.


Police confirmed officers had also dealt with disturbances at two nearby pubs and some arrests had been made.

Local residents said many of the revellers continued to rampage through the streets of Bovey Tracey.

Rebecca Brooks said she had sincerely apologised to local businesses and neighbours.

During the Radio 1 item Pete Tong stated: "We're getting ready for a huge mansion party - 500-plus people going - it's in Bovey."

Mrs Brooks said even if addresses were not mentioned, big homes were identifiable in rural areas.

She said: "I'm going to write a stiff letter to ask the BBC to review its policy. They have to be careful, particularly to rural communities.

"People only had to look for the mansion in Bovey Tracey. In this instance, they may has well have just given the exact address."

She added: "We've all learned lessons, and this is the last party we will be hosting for any of our daughters."

The BBC said Pete Tong gave shout outs on his show every week and he would never knowingly give an identifiable address for a private party.

A BBC spokesman said: "Of course, if the family makes a formal complaint we will fully investigate."

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