Bottles thrown at police during raid on illegal nightclub with 150 partygoers
Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Ben Chapman
Bottles and missiles were thrown at police as they raided an illegal nightclub in Birmingham.
Around 150 people were inside a building on Buckingham Street after West Midlands Police received a tip-off.
Bodycam footage shows officers smashing their way into the venue while people in the nightclub try to scramble towards the exit. One officer suffered a minor injury as a door was smashed open by people trying to break out.
The two-storey nightclub had been fitted with DJ decks, neon lights and its windows were blacked out to avoid detection.
Watch police bodycam footage of the raid on an illegal nightclub in Birmingham
Fifty people are believed to have fled when police arrived, but about 70 revellers were caught and issued with £200 fines. The DJ could also face a £10,000 fine.
On the same evening, police discovered a garage workshop in Dudley Port which had been converted into a makeshift bar - adorned with a sign on the wall which read 'The Covid Arms'.
A dozen people were allowed to leave but the owner was fined £1,000.
Assistant chief constable Chris Todd said: “Our officers continue to work long and hard to protect the public and reduce the spread of this deadly virus by breaking up these gatherings, often in really difficult circumstances.
“It’s unacceptable that our officers came under attack, and that one suffered a minor injury, just for doing their job and enforcing laws that are in place to keep us all safe.
“While there’s much to be hopeful of in terms of the rollout of coronavirus vaccines, people must remember that we are still in lockdown and the virus is still a real threat to communities across the West Midlands.”
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi condemned the partygoers and thanked police for breaking up the event.
"The police are right to enforce and I make absolutely no apologies for the 45,000 enforcements and fines that have been delivered."
He added: "We're all in this together and I think it's irresponsible for a small minority to discard and ignore all the warnings."
He urged people to continue following Covid-19 rules, as there are still 24,000 people in hospital with coronavirus.