Ravers face over £32k in Covid fines after police crash party in disused bank vault
11 March 2021, 10:21
Police crash rave in disused bank vault
More than 40 people are facing Covid-19 fines of £800 each after they were caught at an illegal rave in the vault of a disused bank in west London.
Officers discovered dozens partying in the derelict building after hearing loud music on the site while on patrol in Southall, west London at around 9am on Sunday morning.
They found that around 44 people had made their way in through a gap in a fence and inside the building to set up music equipment.
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Backup was requested before police entered the venue and crashed the party.
Bodycam footage released by Metropolitan Police shows the officers telling ravers: "Everyone's detained, you can't leave."
Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Bowen said: "It is disappointing some selfish people still insist on breaking Covid regulations.
"We are all excited about the prospect of returning to normal in June - and some changes to restrictions are imminent – but behaviour like this risks undermining the roadmap out of lockdown and could potentially cause further delays by creating a breeding ground for the virus.
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"We will continue to do our part in shutting illegal events like this down and taking action where necessary."
They reported everybody at the rave for a fixed penalty notice of £800 - the standard for a serious breach of Covid-19 restrictions - before removing them from the vault.
Officers say they are working to track down the organiser of the event, who could face a £10,000 fine.
