Second organiser of illegal Yate rave fined £10,000 for Covid-19 breach

A second person has been fined £10,000 for part-organising an illegal rave in Yate.

One organiser was handed a £10,000 fine by police for breaching coronavirus rules on 4 November.

More than 700 people attended the event, which took place in an industrial warehouse on 31 October.

Avon and Somerset Police said they were met with “scenes of hostility and violence” after attempting to shut the rave down.

Now, a total of 12 people have been arrested and two men, one in his 20s and one in his 30s fined £10,000 each.

Eight people were arrested on the day and a further four people were arrested towards the end of last week.

Around 700 people attended the event, which took several hours to shut down. Credit: Bristol Live

Det Supt Lisa Simpson said: “A significant number of enquiries have already been carried out and our investigation team is continuing to work hard to analyse all the evidence and make sure those responsible are dealt with appropriately. To date, 12 people have been arrested.

“We’ve a lot of body worn video from cameras worn by officers, which highlights how they robustly dealt with an extremely hostile situation and captures footage of people who attended the event.

“We hope the issuing of two £10,000 fines, which is the maximum amount allowed under the COVID-19 legislation, acts as a warning to others who may foolishly contemplate organising a large-scale unauthorised event when everyone else is facing up to a perilous public health situation and trying to protect the NHS.”

Police say failure to pay the £10,000 fine could result in court action. Credit: Bristol Live

Enquiries to identify any other individuals involved in offences are ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding the event is asked to call 101 and give the call-handler reference number 5220246954.


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