Video shows moment police officers raid house party in Portsmouth

Video credit: Hampshire Constabulary

Footage has been released of police officers in Hampshire raiding a house party in Portsmouth, where a total of 19 people were fined £800 each for breaching Covid restrictions.

Officers were called to the large gathering in the city on Saturday 30 January, after receiving a report from a member of the public.

When officers tried to enter the property, the partygoers started to push and shove to try and force their way out.

An officer can be heard saying, "Everyone’s going to be leaving one at a time, so we can process you guys and get your details".

The officers were shoved as the partygoers tried to leave the property Credit: Hampshire Constabulary

The footage, released by Hampshire Police, has prompted warnings from the force about the dangers of large gatherings during the pandemic.

The public is being reminded that during the national restrictions, people should not be meeting with anyone outside their own household or support bubble, either indoors or outdoors except for specific reasons, to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Assistant Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: “This party is not a one-off, we’re increasingly seeing reports of gatherings of people from multiple households as some members of the public are struggling to observe the national restrictions in place. Not all these gatherings are of this size, but they are all breaching the current Health Protection Regulations and putting lives at risk. The message is simple, stay at home."

The force has released the video to demonstrate just how serious incidents like this are.

It comes after nine people were fined £200 each after police were called to a house party in Amesbury.

Nine adults and a child were discovered having a barbecue in the garden of a house in Shears Drive at around 4.45pm on Monday 1 February.

Police officers broke up the barbecue in Amesbury at the start of February Credit: Wiltshire Police

They were all aged between 20 and 44 and lived in the Amesbury and Salisbury areas.

Superintendent Dave Minty, from Wiltshire Police, said he was "disappointed" by the blatant breach of the lockdown rules.