Teenager who lost half a finger at illegal Croydon rave claims he stayed because ‘the bass was hard’

Reveller known as 'Josh' explains how he came to lose a digit during event

A man who lost a finger at Saturday’s illegal rave in Croydon said he did not leave to gain medical assistance as he had paid £10 for entry and “the bass was hard.”

As previously reported, thousands attended the party in a former Royal Mail delivery office in East Croydon on Saturday night (June 14).

The injured man, known only as “Josh”, told Vice that he lost half of his little finger after a fire alarm went off in the room playing house music. “The fire alarm starting going off and everyone was like, “Rip it off! Rip it off!” So I thought I’d give it a go,” he said. “I was completely sober at the time. I jumped up, grabbed it and my little finger got caught in the case because it was all broken, and as I came to rip it back down, my little finger got ripped off completely.”

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“The bass was hard, so I just ripped off my top, wrapped it around my finger and tied it up as tight as I could and skanked it out for half an hour,” he continued. “My mentality was, ‘I’ve only been here for an hour, I’ve paid £10 for this night, I’ve lost my little finger – am I seriously going to go? Nah, I’m going to skank until I can’t skank any more.'”

“There are fit girls around you, the bass is hard, the music is popping. I didn’t want to be the sore thumb sticking out – or the sore pinkie – so I was like, “Fuck it, let’s skank on and enjoy it.”

It has been reported that 15-year-old Rio Andrew was taken to hospital in the early hours of Sunday and died on Monday after attending the same rave. Police believe the teenager’s death was drug-related but are awaiting test results.

A number of arrests were made in relation to the rave – nine during the event and a further five since it ended on Sunday. Of the 14 arrests, two men have been charged with violent disorder and drugs offences. Other arrests made include charges of possessions of class A drugs, money laundering, violent disorder and criminal damage.

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