British rockers Babyshambles prompted a violent stage invasion on Saturday night (18DEC04) after they failed to attend their final UK tour date.

Estranged LIBERTINE, Pete Doherty's new band were scheduled to end their British tour at midnight in the London Astoria, but 200 furious fans waited for two hours and finally ran onto the stage to destroy the group's equipment after it was announced that Babyshambles wouldn't play.

One fan complains, "Several of my friends say that they saw Pete arrive at the venue - whether that is true or not I don't know. Whatever happened, Babyshambles didn't play and after two hours of waiting, the curtains were lowered on to the stage and an announcement was made.

"Seconds later what could best be described as a riot began to take place. The curtains were torn down, drinks were thrown, the drum kit was smashed and essentially the entire contents of the stage were destroyed. The security forced the kids back to the other side of the barrier."

A spokesperson for Britain's Metropolitan Police adds, "We were called by a member of staff at around 2.30am. When we got to the venue no offences were reported and no arrests were made."

20/12/2004 03:32