Police issue over £15,000 fines during Covid-19 raid on rave in east London

24 January 2021, 11:03 | Updated: 24 January 2021, 11:56

Police break up illegal rave in a Hackney railway arch

Police have broken up another rave held in London in breach of Coronavirus rules.

In the latest "blatant" breach of Covid-19 rules, police issued 78 people with £200 fines, totalling £15,600 after the rave on Saturday in east London.

Police, including a dog unit and the police helicopter, raided the unlicensed music event attended by an estimated 300 people at a railway arch in Nursery Road, Hackney, north-east London, at around 1.30am.

Organisers padlocked the door from the inside before officers forced their way in and dozens of those attending scaled fences to escape, the force said.

Chief Superintendent Roy Smith, who attended the incident, said: "This was a serious and blatant breach of the public health regulations and the law in relation to unlicensed music events.

"Officers were forced, yet again, to put their own health at risk to deal with a large group of incredibly selfish people who were tightly packed together in a confined space - providing an ideal opportunity for this deadly virus to spread.

"Our frontline officers continue to police this public health crisis with compassion & professionalism but it is completely unacceptable they have to face such needless risks to their own health and to their families too."

Police announced yesterday that they had broken up two separate parties in breach of the rules at venues in west London.

The Metropolitan Police say they handed out 30 Covid fines last Sunday morning, after being called to a 200 person party at a business in Knightsbridge. Officers were injured breaking up the event.

Police were also called to a party on Saturday evening, in the same borough of Kensington and Chelsea.The owner of the venue on Harrow Road is being considered for a £10,000 fine, after at least 30 people were found “socialising in close proximity”.