Man fined £10,000 for party that saw 50 people crammed into tiny property

At least there was hand-sanitiser on the wall

CCTV image of party in Stockport (Greater Manchester Police)

Well, at least there appears to be hand-sanitiser on the wall.

The organisers of this party which saw more than 50 people squeezed sardine-like into a tiny property in Stockport has been fined £10,000.

Police broke up the illegal bash after being called by neighbours who had become suspicious that not everyone arriving at the address, in the town’s St Petersgate area, was from the same household.

Officers discovered little evidence of social distancing, while a DJ had been hired to spin the tunes.

Now, after Greater Manchester Police tracked down the organiser, they have been hit with maximum fine for breaching coronavirus rules.

It is not known if they pleaded for leniency given the evidence of a soap dispenser on the wall.

Superintendent Andrew Sidebotham said: "The Covid legislation is put in place to protect our community and keep us safe during this pandemic. This party was a blatant disregard of those rules, taking our already stretched resources away from those who may be in desperate need of urgent help.

“This behaviour is completely unacceptable, and I hope that this fine acts as a reminder that we will not tolerate such flagrant disregard of the coronavirus legislation.

"Although the property was rented, our officers were able to identify the organiser of this party and ensure he faced the consequences for risking the public's health at a time when we need to be looking out for each other.”

The fine was revealed a day after Ian Hopkins, chief constable of GMP, signed a joint open letter with four other force chiefs in the North West vowing to crack down hard on those found flouting new restrictions.

Last week, meanwhile, the National Police Chiefs’ Council revealed more than 20,000 fines had been issued since coronavirus restrictions were introduced in March.