Police beg youngsters to scrap rave where Nazi nerve gas was dumped
Police beg TikTok youngsters to scrap rave at old slate quarry where captured Nazi nerve gas was dumped in World War Two
- The rave, coined ‘Project X Llanberis’, is planned to take place tonight in Wales
- The site dates back to the Second World War and has sealed-off quarry pits
- In 1942 part of it collapsed burying 14,000 tons of bombs – 14% of RAF’s stock
Police are begging crowds of TikTok youngsters to scrap a rave this weekend at an old slate quarry where Adolf Hiler’s deadly nerve gas is feared to be hidden.
Invites to the illegal event due to take place tonight at the Glyn Rhonwy bomb store in Llanberis, Wales were circulated on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, aimed at children as young as 15.
The potential rave site dates back to the Second World War and has sealed-off quarry pits, the size of two football pitches.
Police are begging crowds of TikTok youngsters to scrap a rave this weekend at an old slate quarry where Adolf Hiler’s deadly nerve gas is feared to be hidden
The potential rave site dates back to the Second World War and has sealed-off quarry pits, the size of two football pitches
Invites to the illegal event due to take place tonight at the Glyn Rhonwy bomb store in Llanberis, Wales were circulated on TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat, aimed at children as young as 15
The site was acquired by the Air Ministry in 1939 as a top-secret store for up to 18,000 tons of bombs.
But in 1942 part of it collapsed, engulfing 27 wagons that were being unloaded.
The collapse buried 14,000 tons of bombs – at that time 14 per cent of the RAF’s entire stock.
The slate quarry was later used to dispose of old and surplus bombs, bullets and grenades.
Thousands of tonnes of ended up in quarry pits there, prompting a massive RAF clean-up operation that only ended in the mid-1970s.
In 2016 the ‘Concerned about Glyn Rhonwy’ group, fighting plans for a Snowdonia hydro-electric plan, said they believed that chemical weapons including captured German nerve gas was dumped or buried at the site.
The site was acquired by the Air Ministry in 1939 as a top-secret store for up to 18,000 tons of bombs. But in 1942 part of it collapsed, engulfing 27 wagons that were being unloaded
The event, promoted under the banner ‘Project X Llanberis’, was shared on TikTok and other platforms by an individual who has now been questioned by police
A report for the developers suggested some unexploded munitions could remain buried in the former quarry, the BBC said.
But it said German nerve gas was removed and destroyed decades ago.
Now North Wales Police fear youngsters will go there in large crowds to hold a rave tonight and tomorrow.
The event, promoted under the banner ‘Project X Llanberis’, was shared on TikTok and other platforms by an individual who has now been questioned by police.
Police and Gwynedd Council are now warning people of the dangers of the site, urging them to stay away for their own safety.
Inspector Arwel Hughes said ‘I am aware of a social media post being circulated on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat of a planned rave that was reported to be taking place the old Glyn Rhonwy bomb store site in Llanberis.
‘The unlicensed music event was being promoted under the banner ‘Project X Llanberis’ and aimed towards children 15 years and above.
‘It goes without saying that an event of this nature is both illegal and extremely dangerous, given the numerous inherent perils that would come with it being held at such a location.
‘The individual behind the TikTok account has been identified and visited by officers, and I want to clarify that the event reported to be taking place at the site will not be going ahead.
‘What initially started as a joke quickly got out of hand and the webpage has now been updated and has since been deleted from the social media platform.
‘I would now ask for parents to communicate this message to their children to ensure it is shared with as many people as possible.’
Colin Morris, business support manager at Gwynedd Council’s Economy and Community Department said: ‘The former Glyn Rhonwy bomb site is a dangerous site.
‘We would urge members of the public to take notice of the warning signs and to keep out for the sake of their own safety and the safety of others.
‘It is private land and not open to the public.
‘As a council, we support North Wales Police’s message and call on parents to make sure that children and young people are aware of risks associated with the site.’
In July 2020 during a spell of hot weather, people cooling off in the disused ‘Doomwatch’ quarry were warned it was a store for 18,000 tons of bombs and it’s claimed World War Two nerve gas is still there.
Police and Gwynedd Council are now warning people of the dangers of the site, urging them to stay away for their own safety
They were warned to stay away from the ‘dangerous’ former military bomb storage facility in Glyn Rhonwy, near Llanberis.
But daredevils ignored warning signs and broke in to swim in quarry holes filled with rainwater.
Some even climbed the 6ft high steel perimeter fence, said Gwynedd Council.
When the ‘Concerned about Glyn Rhonwy’ group protested in 2016, a consultant’s report confirmed that 70,000 German tabun nerve gas shells were held at the Llanberis quarry for a short time.
They were later moved to another facility near Caernarfon, and eventually dumped at sea, said the report.
The consultants stated that an official UK board of inquiry in the 1960s found ‘all German chemical weapons appeared to have been successfully removed from RAF Llanberis’.
But the Glyn Rhonwy campaigners insisted there could be ‘no guarantees that every single tabun shell was removed’.
‘We think there is at least one discarded tabun bomb on the site’ said Jeff Taylor, from the campaign group, at the time.
He said that was based on documents uncovered in an archive relating to the quarry, which showed images of tabun bombs in Germany, and what appeared to be the case of a similar bomb lying in a slate rock crevice.
‘It is circumstantial evidence, but it is pretty damaging circumstantial evidence.’
Chemist Dr Dave Peskett, who was said to have carried out research for the campaigners, had ‘seen documents suggesting discarded mustard gas shells had also been dumped at the quarry in the past’.
‘I would now ask for parents to communicate this message to their children to ensure it is shared with as many people as possible’
He added ‘It is not just the munitions that are the issue here. There’s a huge pile of toxic residue there.
‘Someone has to come in and remediate that site before any development takes place.’
The spokesman for Snowdonia Pump Hydro said tests had been carried out on water samples in the quarry in both 2012 and 2015, and no contamination was found.
They added that ‘in the unlikely event’ that unexploded ordnance was uncovered at Glyn Rhonwy, it would be ‘dealt with in a rigorous process’.
In 2016 BBC Wales asked the Ministry of Defence to respond to concerns surrounding the site.
However, a freedom of information request for details regarding the German nerve gas at Llanberis by the campaigner group was rejected stating that ‘release of the information would enable ill-disposed persons or organisations to act against the national interest, and that therefore on balance the information should be withheld’.
Gwynedd Council said when people invaded to swim that ‘the site at Glyn Rhonwy is closed off for a reason.
‘People have unfortunately ignored signs that were placed on the perimeter fencing, putting themselves in danger.
‘The quarry pools that have been used for swimming by trespassers contain a number of potential hazards which could cause serious injury or worse, including underwater debris and jagged slate shards.
‘It should also be remembered that the water temperature in these pools is usually dangerously cold even during prolonged periods of warm weather.
‘We would strongly urge members of the public not to put themselves in unnecessary danger by climbing over or vandalising the fencing to enter the former quarry site and flooded quarry holes as well as trespassing on private property by entering the former bomb storage facility.
‘We have reported this to North Wales Police and we would urge anyone who witnesses people trespassing on the site to contact them immediately by phoning 101 or phoning 999 if someone is in danger.
‘We are also appealing to parents to ensure that their children are aware of the dangers of trespassing on old industrial sites and to avoid swimming in any pools or lakes which may contain hidden dangers such as underwater currents or sudden deep water.
‘Our message to the public is simple – please keep out of this dangerous site.’
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