Birmingham police forced to break up street party of 100 people

23 May 2020, 14:30

Police have condemned a group of up to 100 people after they held a street party in Birmingham on Wednesday.

West Midlands Police released footage of a gathering in Handsworth, Birmaingham, on Wednesday.

In a tweet, Chief Constable Dave Thompson told people not to act "like idiots" over the bank holiday weekend.

"I commend the amazing, patient work of officers in this footage. It’s what we have seen day in day out," he said.

"Don’t be an idiot this weekend.

"Behaving like this will spread the virus. It diverts police officers from important work."

The group in the video included families standing shoulder-to-shoulder and a BBQ servng food to multiple people.

A large amount of cars can also be seen around the event.

Birmingham Police Superintendent Gareth Morris said: “This gathering was unacceptable.“It was, in essence, a large street party.

“Such gatherings are banned at present under Covid-19 regulations as they pose a very real risk of spreading the virus and costing lives.

“It’s important people take responsibility for their own actions to help curb the spread of the virus.”

He continued: “There were several children in this gathering.

“Parents need to be stressing to their children the importance of social distancing to save lives.

“We don’t like stopping people having fun but everyone has to recognise amassing in large numbers like this, given the current pandemic, is out of order.

“There were no arrests and no fines were issued.

“However, these people have been warned and if we encounter any further mass gatherings at the location we may well issue on-the-spot fines.”