‘We’ve been bored’ student partygoers tell police before being fined a total of £17k

3 February 2021, 12:33

'Bored' student party-goers fined £17k

Police body-cam footage has revealed the moment university students told officers they threw a 30-person house party as they were “bored” - before being fined a total of £17,000.

Lancashire Police say they interrupted the a party at around 2.45am on Sunday, finding around 30-people inside celebrating a birthday.

Body-worn footage shows one of the party-goers, who are believed to be Edge Hill University students, telling police: "We've been bored and we want to have fun."

"We have been in lockdown for ages," one person says, attempting to justify their actions.

Some of the students fled through a window, with police handing out £800 fines to nine of those attending.

The attendees are some of the first to be slapped with the new fines, which came into force this weekend for anyone attending a house party of 15 or more.

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The organiser of the party was also located and will be given a £10,000 fine, police say.

In the footage, she can be seen telling officers the party was supposed to be a "little gathering". She claims she is permitted to have up to 14 people over, despite all household mixing indoors being banned across the UK.

"How do you expect a 20-year-old girl to pay £10,000 for this?” she asks officers, adding: "It's not worth £10,000."

"It isn't worth £10,000. You're right," the officer responds.

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Another man was arrested after an officer was pushed, the force said.

Sam Taiwo, 23, of Bellhouse Road, Sheffield, has since been charged with assaulting a police officer and is due to appear at Preston Magistrates' Court on April 1.

Superintendent Karen Edwards described the party as a “blatant breach of the current restrictions, which are in place to prevent the virus from spreading and to keep everybody safe”.

"It is unbelievably selfish for anyone to believe they are exempt when so many law-abiding citizens have not seen their friends and family properly in almost a year,” she added.

"The people in attendance also gave no thought to the safety of the local community or the officers who had to attend to break up the gathering, not to mention the NHS which is under immense strain.

"It is also shocking that an officer reported being assaulted while dealing with the aftermath of the event."

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The force say they received 517 calls about Covid-19 breaches this weekend, issuing 181 tickets. Most of these were for house parties, those not self-isolating after arriving in the UK from abroad and businesses not complying with the regulations.

A spokesman for Edge Hill University said: "We are fully co-operating and working closely with the police to establish the details.

"This is completely unacceptable behaviour and we will be taking appropriate action in line with our disciplinary procedures.

"We cannot pre-empt the outcome of these investigations or predict any final sanctions that might be imposed; however, the university is able to exclude students in the most serious cases."