Police in London break up illegal gathering of up to 40 people
13 February 2021, 10:49 | Updated: 13 February 2021, 10:51
An illegal gathering of between 30 and 40 people in Wandsworth, south-west London, was shut down by the police on Thursday night.
The house party was broken up for breaching the Covid restriction that requires people not to attend a gathering of more than 15 individuals inside a private property.
Officers were called to the address at around 11:40pm on Thursday after being told that a gathering was taking place.
They found dozens of people in attendance, who received fixed penalty notices before being dispersed and the premises locked.
Two people were arrested, including a female for breach of coronavirus regulations and a male for an unrelated offence.
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Inspector Matt Ebbs, from the Metropolitan Police's South West Command Unit, said it was "saddening" to have to deal with such a clear breach of restrictions.
He branded the behaviour of all those involved "selfish" at a time when people in the capital are still dying or making "considerable sacrifices" by adhering to the rules.
The inspector said: "It is saddening to have to deal with an incident like this where large numbers of people have illegally gathered in breach of Covid regulations during a national lockdown.
“At a time when so many members of the public are making considerable sacrifices and abiding by the rules to keep others safe, these individuals acted selfishly and risked spreading the virus which has already claimed countless lives across our city.
“These are challenging times but we must all play our part, and I urge everyone to follow the rules to protect themselves and their community.”
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