Alcohol will not be served at motocross event

Alcohol will not be sold at this year's British Motocross Grand Prix after police hit out at a "lawless" previous event.

The event, a round of the FIM Motocross World Championship, is due to take place on the weekend of 21 June at the Matterley Basin in Winchester, Hampshire.

However Winchester City Council has refused the the temporary events notices (TEN) it needs to sell alcohol across the site.

A premises licence application has now been submitted which, if granted on time, would mean alcohol and entertainment could be provided.

However, the public consultation ends just three days before the event starts.

The event is set to attract between 7,000 and 10,000 motocross fans from across the country.

Five TEN applications were submitted on 22 May for a main bar tent, an arena relief bar, a paddock relief bar, a VIP guest hospitality marquee and an entertainment area.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight police objected and said similar events, which have been happening for more than 10 years in Winchester, had been a "significant concern".

According to the force, the concerns were raised to the event organisers "with little to no effective changes year on year," resulting in numerous breaches of conditions and "no lessons seemingly learned".

It said at the 2024 Motocross of Nations event young people were seen drinking alcohol, fireworks were fired next to people without security and fire measures, and dangerous driving around the site was witnessed.

The police said there were several licensing breaches and three crimes reported, including the assault of a staff member who was knocked unconscious for 15 minutes.

Someone also died at the event, with a preliminary cause of death determined to be MDMA toxicity and biventricular cardiac hypertrophy.

The licensing sub-committee indicated that, out of the five TEN applications, only one could be considered - the main bar.

After considering it, the committee, decided the application posed a safety risk for attendees and rejected it.

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