Police and party goers clash on Southampton Common

An angry jeering crowd threw bottles and cans at officers after they sprang from behind bushes to seize a sound system that had been set up by the children's playground.

More than one hundred people had gathered for a party in the park after officers directed them to Common from an abandoned street party in the Polygon.

But revellers accused police of entrapment and claimed officers had “legally” sanctioned the party.

Dozens of police officers were assembled to close down the gathering after organisers failed to turn off loud dance music that was blasted out across the Common for over an hour. The operation was supported by a police helicopter.

Two organisers and DJs were arrested, handcuffed and put into the back of a police van with the confiscated music gear and a portable generator. They were later released from the van without action moments later.

The party had been put on by the Freedom Freaks Sound System, who unfurled their banner behind the DJ decks.

One of the organisers, who did not want to be named, accused the police of provoking the ugly scenes after they had agreed to pack up.

He said: “The first time we questioned it because we were told we could come down here. I said to them if you shut us down you've got 300 drunk people. You're going to start a riot. They totally overacted.”

Police officers had earlier been patrolling the Polygon to stop an “unlicensed, unapproved” street party taking place in Newcombe Road.

Long-term residents described how they felt “intimidated” as more than 2,000 revellers descended on the road with huge sound systems during last year's royal wedding It resulted in a three-hour council clean up costing thousands of pounds after piles of rubbish and broken glass were left all over the street.

Messages on the internet had urged people to gather at Newcombe Road at 3pm yesterday for another party But groups of young people arrived to find teams of police manning both ends of the road and were urged to go to the Common where they could drink and enjoy themselves.

Phil Burton, 22, a shift manager and former law student from the Polygon, said police officers in Newcombe Road who directed him to the Common had told him music and alcohol would be allowed.

“They sent people to the Common. They incited people into it,” he said.

Lorraine Barter, a member of Polygon campaign group Residents Action, said: “The police did a brilliant job in saving the Polygon from an unpleasant , stressful ,and potentially dangerous situation.”

A police spokesman said people arriving for a party in the Polygon were directed to go to open public spaces on Southampton Common instead, but insisted officers told them it would be unlawful to play amplified music there without a licence.

He said police took action to disperse the gathering and seized sound equipment after complaints from members of the public about amplified music causing a noise nuisance, and a gathering of around 100 people “putting public safety at risk”.

He said there were also reports of minor disorder.

The spokesman said a 25-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of causing public nuisance.

Another 27-year-old man from Southampton was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence.

Both men were last night held in custody for questioning while police continued to patrol the Common.