- Hundreds of UK revelers have been fined on New Years Eve for violating coronavirus restrictions.
- The incident sites included the streets of London, where a woman argued with police while holding a champagne flute; a church, where hundreds of revelers threw objects at the police; houses and pubs.
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The ringing of the new year has been accompanied by new fines for some UK revelers who have broken coronavirus lockdown measures to party on the streets and in not-so-clandestine places.
According to the Guardian, police held celebrations in Brighton, Manchester, Leicestershire, Sheffield, Essex, London and Lancashire. Hundreds too would have collected on the esplanade of Edinburgh Castle.
In London in particular, a woman without a mask was seen arguing with police while holding a champagne flute.
“They had harsh words,” photographer Thomas Bowles told MailOnline. “The police told her that she was not allowed to drink in public and told her she had to go home.”
The city was also the scene of 58 unlicensed rallies in which 217 were given fixed penalty notices, Sky News reported. Four were arrested in central London, the outlet said, and a cafe was stopped for hosting around 50 people who were smoking, watching European football and listening to music.
Meanwhile, in Manchester, more than 100 fixed penalty notices have been issued at places such as house parties, a rave and a pub.
And in Essex, hundreds of revelers gathered at a church, where they threw objects at police. Hundreds more in the county partied in an abandoned warehouse and another 100 partied at a house party. The host, along with others across the country, was fined 10,000 pounds – the equivalent of over $ 13,000.
Some residents of England are currently subject to Level 3 restrictions, which prohibit people from different households from mingling indoors, and others are subject to Level 4 restrictions, which only allow two people to meet outside.
Still, most residents played by the rules, police told media.
“I am sure that the well-meaning majority of our residents will join me in condemning this irresponsible, life-threatening behavior,” said Chris Sykes, Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, according to the Guardian.
