Ravers had to be treated by paramedics after an assault at an illegal gathering on the edge of Oxford.

The two men, who were too intoxicated to tell police what had happened, were at a seven-hour party on land near the Marston flyover of the A40 ring-road on Sunday.

Thames Valley Police and environmental health officers from Oxford City Council were present at the locked and gated entrance to the land from about 6am.

A spokesman for the police said they had received "a couple" of calls from members of the public about the noise. The council also received three phone calls about the party, which was attended by more than 300 people.

After negotiating with police, the organisers of the rave - who are not believed to have had the permission of the landowner - said the music from their three sound systems would be switched off by 8am.

Officers entered the site at 8.10am to force the last sound system to close down. No arrests were made, no equipment was seized and the site was cleared of people and vehicles by 9am.

Police are investigating criminal damage to three cars, believed to be owned by people attending the rave. Residents as far afield as Cutteslowe, one-and-a-half miles away, heard the party start just before 1am.

Pat Saunders, who lives 10 minutes away in Mill Lane, Old Marston, did not hear the music herself but said neighbours, including her mother-in-law, had been upset at being disturbed.

She said: "It woke my mother-in-law up at 5am and she couldn't get back to sleep and she was going away on holiday that day.

"My other neighbour was quite angry because he had been kept awake all night. He called the police and even showed them where it was."

Another neighbour, Phil Norris, was less concerned. He said: "I heard the noise but it didn't really bother me because a friend had told me the party would be happening.

"If I hadn't known what it was I might have found it a bit more annoying."

One of the rave organisers, who did not want to be named, said he was pleased to hear that only five people had complained about the party.

He said: "We wanted to have an end of the summer party. The police said they had had complaints all through the night, but they didn't seem to care too much. We got it past them.

"People can put up with it once in a while, a lot of people had a good time."