Coronavirus: Manchester man fined £10,000 for hosting party of 60 people – in two bedroom flat
Party ‘could ultimately increase demand on the NHS’, police say
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Your support makes all the difference.A man has been fined £10,000 after police found up to 60 people having a party inside a two-bedroom flat in Manchester.
None of them were social distancing, officers said.
Greater Manchester Police were called to reports of a disturbance at the property in the city centre’s Works complex at 12.30am on Sunday, the force revealed on Friday.
When officers arrived, they found music was being played through a sound system which included commercial-sized speakers.
They issued a £10,000 fixed penalty notice to the organiser - a 38-year-old man - for a major breach of coronavirus restrictions.
Superintendent Chris Hill said the bash was “a clear act of non-compliance which put those in attendance at risk of Covid-19 and could, ultimately, increase demand on the NHS”.
The action was revealed just two days after GMP fined another man the same amount for hosting a party which saw 50 people squeezed into a tine property in Stockport.
CCTV footage of that bash, thrown in the town’s St Petersgate area, showed revellers packed sardine-like into the property, while a DJ spun tunes.
It all came after police chiefs with five north western forced – including GMP – promised a crackdown on offenders.
In an open letter, the top brass from Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside vowed they would be targeting “those organising large gatherings and music events, repeatedly holding parties or deliberately causing harm to our communities by not following the restrictions, such as self-isolating where necessary”.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland has since backed the move saying there could be increased fines for repeat offenders.
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