What could be better on a bright bank holiday afternoon than a bracing walk in the beautiful Sussex countryside?

Sadly the answer would be almost anything else last weekend if you were near the Devil’s Dyke beauty spot north of Brighton.

Music was blasting out from several huge speakers and was so loud it could be heard several miles away.

There were thousands of people attending a rave on land close to the Dyke golf club between the road and the ravine.

Litter was strewn everywhere, with almost no attempt to collect it. Some people were lying on the ground insensible through drink or drugs.

The road itself was almost completely blocked by parked cars and there were more left on any clear spot of downland. Cars were driving up and down the South Downs Way, which is supposed to be traffic-free.

I asked myself whether I was being unreasonable in being affronted by this rave. The people I spoke to there were polite.

The rave had been positioned away from the Dyke itself and was not near anyone’s home. The ravers were enjoying being in the countryside as much as anyone else.

It’s hard to think of anywhere in the Downs which would be better for them than this site, which is easy to reach from Brighton.

Then I remembered the long fight to make the South Downs a national park so that its chalky charms could be better protected.

I thought of the many times I have walked along the South Downs Way in almost perfect peace and tranquillity.

And I recalled the many plants, insects, animals and birds that would have been disturbed by the rave, which took up many acres of downland.

What I found most extraordinary and rather disturbing was that no one seemed able or willing to stop the rave.

Police said they did not have enough officers available, although there seemed to be large numbers in cars at or near the Dyke.

There were clear offences being committed of all kinds right under their noses yet no action was taken.

Are they really saying the law can be broken so easily?

And what action was being taken by the South Downs National Park Authority, which is supposed to be giving this land special protection?

Where was the National Trust, which owns most of the land at the Dyke? What action did it take to stop people spoiling its beauty?

Was Brighton and Hove City Council, which owns some of the land nearby, asked if it could help restrict access? What role, if any, was played by Mid Sussex District Council – the Dyke is in its patch?

Did many – or any – of the ravers themselves give even a momentary thought to the damage and disturbance this event would inevitably cause?

There are more festivals up and down the country than ever before which do not cause environmental damage which are there for ravers to enjoy. By the look of them, most could afford to pay any admission charge.

In the meantime all the authorities need to get together to stop this happening again.

Many more bunds are needed to impede access by cars and lorries to possible sites.

With an event as big as the one last weekend, it is perfectly possible to get wind of it through social media and take swift action.

It would not take many officers near the Dyke and Saddlescombe to prevent any rave from starting rather than attempting to clear crowds when it is well under way.

The South Downs are the best-used national park in Britain. They are also in the most crowded part of the country.

More than any of the older and larger national parks, they need special protection to maintain their fragile ecology.

It is disgraceful that when a rave occurs on this scale, no action is taken to stop it as downland is destroyed in front of them.

Ravers will not be slow to appreciate that what happened this weekend gives them the green light for a repeat sometime this summer.

For all the fine words spoken about the merits of a national park, when trouble comes, its pusillanimous protectors simply stand by and do nothing.