POLICE have issued £30,000 of fines after more than 50 people were found at a house party on Wednesday – the night before lockdown started.
Thames Valley Police said that officers attended an address in the Reading area, where loud music was playing and many of the occupants appeared to be ‘intoxicated’.
Officers broke up the party, and the three residents – who organised the event despite coronavirus restrictions in force preventing more than six people from gathering – were each fined £10,000.
The Gold Commander of the force’s response to the coronavirus, Chief Superintendent Rob France, said that everyone needed to obey the rules and they didn’t want to issue any fines.
“Cases of coronavirus are once again increasing and with that, the risk to lives,” he said in a statement. “As such we all have our part to play in following the measures and the law in place to help stop the spread of this indiscriminate virus.
“We would rather not have to issue fines such as these, however in this case our officers encountered a blatant disregard for the rules that are in place and this party posed a clear risk of transmission of the virus within the Reading community.
“Not only do breaches of this kind put people at risk from a health perspective, but they put pressure on policing resources taking them away from people who may be in urgent need of help.”
He added: “Our officers will continue to engage, encourage and explain the regulations to our communities however where we encounter people who we feel are flagrantly ignoring them we will look to enforce be it through dispersal, fines or even arrest.”
“It is clear to us that the vast majority of the people in the Thames Valley are doing what they can to do the right thing and we continue to be hugely grateful to them for the sacrifices they are making to protect us all.
“We are committed to working with our partners, businesses and the public to make our communities safer and help stop the spread of this deadly virus.”
