Covid: Police in Liverpool arrest 16 at anti-lockdown protest

Protestors marched across the steps of St George's Hall

Sixteen people have been arrested after hundreds of demonstrators attended an anti-lockdown protest in Liverpool city centre.

Merseyside Police issued a strong statement criticising those attending as "selfish and irresponsible".

They said they had arrested people for breaching public order and coronavirus rules that ban mass gatherings.

Images shows demonstrators were not observing social distancing measures or wearing face coverings.

Sixteen people were arrested at the rally

Police have implemented a dispersal zone in the city centre and south Liverpool until Sunday, saying the decision followed an anti-lockdown rally last Saturday, when two men were arrested.

The area had among the highest rates of coronavirus infections and deaths in October, when it became the first region in England to face the highest tier restrictions before the second national lockdown.

About 100,000 people have been tested for the virus since the country's first city-wide tests started in Liverpool last weekend, local officials have said.

On Friday, mayor Joe Anderson added that the city's infection rate and hospital admissions were also "starting to come down".