Nottinghamshire Police break up New Year's Eve party

More than 100 people were found partying above a garage in Thoroton Street, Nottingham

Police have broken up a New Year's Eve party of more than 100 people and handed the organiser a £10,000 fine for breaching Covid regulations.

The party in Thoroton Street, Nottingham, was pre-arranged with tickets sold for £10, said officers.

Nottinghamshire Police said most people fled when officers arrived.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Cooper said while it was "disappointing" some thought rules didn't apply to them, they were "very much in the minority".

Under current legislation, anyone breaching regulations on gatherings of more than 30 people can be fined up to £10,000.

Police said another pre-arranged party in Gloucester Avenue was also stopped and numerous fines were handed out.

Officers also dispersed a party in Belward Street and handed out 28 penalties.

In another case, in Ramsdale Road, Carlton, an officer was assaulted, and in Alfreton Road a man was arrested after refusing to give his details to police when they dispersed a gathering.

Officers also dispersed groups where they had gathered for firework displays.

ACC Cooper said: "I want to thank everyone who followed the rules and stayed within the current restrictions for their celebrations."

Talking about the "minority" who broke them, he said: "Sadly their selfish actions could well have caused further issues for the city and county in days and weeks to come, but hopefully because the numbers were low this impact will be minimal.

"We took swift action last night against all who chose to flout the rules; shutting down parties as soon as we found them and fining those that were intent on causing trouble.

"We said we would not tolerate this, we warned people this was the action we were going to take and we were ready to take it."

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