Manchester rave: Teenagers fined £1,000 each at ‘blatant’ 100-person Boxing Day party
27 December 2020, 17:19
Manchester police shut down a 100-person rave in the early hours of Sunday morning, which was attended by people “from across the North West”.
Greater Manchester Police were called to the Boxing Day party at 4.20am last night, after reports of a large gathering and loud music at empty flats on Hanover Street, near Manchester’s Victoria train station.
The force say they seized music equipment and are continuing their enquiries to hold people accountable for the rule-breaking party.
Two teenage boys - aged 17 and 18 - were each given £1,000 fixed penalty notices, which are normally issued for breaking Covid rules.
Organisers of gatherings that break Covid restrictions can be fined up to £10,000 each.
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A 27-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and remains in custody. He was also given a £200 notice.
Chief Inspector Colin MacDiarmid, of GMP’s City of Manchester division said the force “will not hesitate to take enforcement action against those found to be responsible for blatant examples of flouting the rules such as this."
He added: “There is no denying the blatant breach of COVID legislation that took place here last night, and enquiries are ongoing to ensure the organisers of this gathering are held accountable for their unacceptable actions.
“It is clear that the people at this gathering weren’t just people from Manchester but from across the North West, and it not only disregards the rules there to protect public health but also undermines the whole spirit of us all needing to be in this together to battle the ongoing risk of coronavirus.”
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Greater Manchester is continuing to see a rise in Covid cases respite being in Tier 3 restrictions since October.
The region recorded 193 cases per 100,000 people for the week ending December 22, a rise of 18 percent compared to the previous week.
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“The majority of people in Manchester have made tremendously difficult sacrifices over the Christmas period and have complied with the rules that we all have to follow,” Chief Inspector MacDiarmid.
“It is the minority of people who attend events such as this that risk undoing the hard work of everyone else.”
