Coronavirus: Teenager fined £10k for breaching rules after hosting 50-person party

Gatherings of more than six people will be banned in England from Monday.

A teenager has been fined £10,000 for breaching coronavirus restrictions after hosting 50 people at his home for a party, police have said.

Nottinghamshire Police revealed a 19-year-old man was given the "hefty fine" after the house party in Lenton on Friday evening.

In a statement the force said the fine showed "just how prepared they are to use the full weight of the law in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus".

Police have been given new powers to issue fines of up to £10,000 to anyone thought to have organised illegal gatherings of more than 30 people.

The fine was issued amid warnings from the Police Federation about a "real risk" of people using this weekend as a party weekend ahead of the tighter restrictions being introduced on Monday.

New rules will be implemented on Monday in England restricting social gatherings to a maximum of six people.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cooper said the party was a "clear example of a householder who deliberately flouted the rules without a care for anyone else".

Drinkers outside a London pub. Credit: PA

He added: “I want to send out a clear message to anyone who is thinking of deliberately hosting parties tonight or tomorrow night ahead of the rules changing to please not do this. As we have demonstrated here we are not afraid to use the full powers we have and we will not tolerate those who are deliberately put other people’s lives in danger.”

Police were alerted to the house party by neighbours who reported the gathering at 10.20pm on Friday.

Community protection officers from Nottingham City Council attended but were "met with hostility from the organiser and so police were called to assist", the force said.

Officers later found around 50 people in the address who were all ordered to leave and the occupant was later issued with the fine.

If he fails to pay or contests the fine he will be ordered to appear before a court.

Amy English, Neighbourhood Policing Inspector for City Central, said the enforcement was used as "last resort and that will continue".

Police in Manchester – where a local lockdown has been in force since July 30 – said they broke up a house party of 30 people in the early hours of Saturday.

Greater Manchester Police said: “The occupant claimed he wasn’t aware there were any Covid restrictions in place and couldn’t see what the problem was. People dispersed and fixed penalty notice issued."