https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9103697/And-people-DIDNT-stay-home.html'Partying was more important than protecting others': Top police officer slams New Year's Eve revellers who ignored Covid lockdown rules and packed illegal raves as fines worth £18,000 are issued in Essex alone
Two men were stabbed and a woman suffered head injuries as tempers flared on Edgware Road this morning
Met Police confirmed all three people were taken to hospital, a woman has been arrested on suspicion of GBH
Officers were called out to 58 unlicensed music events across London, with 217 people receiving fines
Essex Police arrested five people and handed out £18,000 worth of fines after uncovering raves in the county
By Sam Baker and Luke May and Jack Elsom For Mailonline
Published: 03:10, 1 January 2021 | Updated: 15:43, 1 January 2021
A top police officer has slammed New Year's Eve revellers who ignored Covid lockdown rules and 'decided partying was more important than protecting other people'. While most Brits stayed at home to celebrate the end of 2020, police were handing out hundreds of fines and breaking up illegal raves across the country. Police in Essex alone issued £18,000 worth of fines, breaking up events that included a house party with 100 people attending and a fire dancer performing for crowds. A woman who organised the event in Sewardstonebury was fined £10,000. Elsewhere in the county officers broke up an illegal rave at an abandoned church in East Horndon and another at a warehouse in Brentwood. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet criticised those who 'decided to blatantly flout the coronavirus rules and regulations and, ultimately, they decided that partying was more important than protecting other people'. He added: 'We've seized their equipment, arrested five people, and issued a large number of fines to those who think this behaviour is acceptable. We need you to keep yourselves, other people, and the NHS, safe. Thank you again to everyone who spent their New Year's Eve in a responsible, legal, way. 'Stay safe, Essex.'
Met Police issued 217 people with fixed penalty fines and five people could receive £10,000 fines for organising large gatherings across London. Two men were stabbed and a woman hit around the head with a bottle as violence broke out when up to 70 people squared up to one another in Edgware Road, London, just minutes after midnight. There were similar raves across the country, as Greater Manchester Police issued 105 fines, compared to 66 in Brighton and Hove. In the aftermath of the disturbances on Edgware Road, a photographer working for MailOnline was knocked unconscious while taking pictures near police officers yards from the homes of the rich and famous including Tony Blair and Claudia Winkleman. As he recovered, he told MailOnline: 'We got there and there were lots of armed police. Big armed police cars were zooming past us we counted 11. There must be 100-and-something police there at least, a lot of them heavily armed.'
He said as he worked, a man approached him and punched him. 'As I hit the floor, six or seven officers rushed to me and then apparently six or seven more caught the guy who did it,' he said. 'He was arrested on the scene.'
The experienced photojournalist said he counted around 60 or 70 suspected gang members present on the street after the initial stabbings had taken place. Police said they were called by colleagues in the London Fire Brigade to reports of a stabbing on Edgware Road. A spokesman said: 'Officers attended the scene, with the London Ambulance Service and [the air ambulance]. Two males were identified with stab injuries. Both men were taken to hospital. A woman was also located at the scene suffering with a head injury, she has been taken to hospital.' He added: 'One woman has been arrested for GBH and taken to a police station.'
Speaking this morning, Met Police Commander Paul Brogden said: 'In all, the vast majority of Londoners complied with the Covid regulations that are in place to protect themselves and their loved ones, and we're grateful to those people. The public are all too aware that Tier 4 restrictions have been put in place to reduce the spread of the virus and to protect the NHS. We did attend a number of calls to parties and unlicensed events across London, including one where two people were stabbed. My colleagues in the local command unit continue to investigate. Our enforcement activity will continue. If people insist on gathering and breaching regulations, then officers will attend and encourage people to disperse. Where necessary, enforcement action, including fines starting at £100 and working their way up to £10,000, will be considered. We are still dealing with the stark reality of fighting a deadly virus. I urge Londoners to continue to keep themselves and their families safe by staying at home.'
Elsewhere in London, dozens of people were found gathering in Chadwell Heath, while another rave was busted at a warehouse in London's Royal Docks. Some revellers were determined to party despite the threat of £10,000 fines and repeated warnings about the dangers of spreading the virus. Police say 60 partygoers were found at an unlicensed music event in Kemp Road, Chadwell Heath, on New Year's Eve. Officers dispersed the crowd and handed a £10,000 fine to the organiser of the rave. Newham Police said that a 'large unlicensed music event' was shut down by officers and a number of arrests were made at a warehouse in Royal Docks. Police in Liverpool managed to prevent a gathering after organisers shared details of the event online. Merseyside Police introduced a dispersal zone for the Pier Head and areas of Liverpool city centre to stop people gathering last night after a post was circulated on social media encouraging people to meet near the Liver Building to party together. On the post, organisers said: 'F*** Tier 3. Liverpool Pier Head tonight.'
Officers in Norfolk spotted another event as scores of youngsters began making their way to the event on Hall Road in the village of Ludham, Norfolk, as the countdown to midnight began. Generators and other equipment for the music was seized, and motorists were told to avoid the area as police officers dispersed the gathering crowds of ravers and shut down the rave before it could begin. A Norfolk police spokeswoman said 'As cases of coronavirus rise across the county, officers will continue to take firm action against these kinds of gatherings, which breach public health regulations, including the use of fines.'
Around 80 people were dispersed from a party at a rural property in Hyndburn, outside Blackburn, with the organiser receiving a £10,000 on the spot fine. Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods, of Lancashire Police, described the party as a 'shocker'. He tweeted: 'Home after a very different NYE. Well done @LancsPolice & @NWAmbulance who dealt with a steady stream of incidents after midnight. Some shockers tonight e.g. Hyndburn rural property with about 80 young people there @LancsPolice stopped it & organiser reported for £10k fine.'
Fines handed out in Brighton were among 81 fixed penalty notices issued by Sussex Police between 6pm on Thursday and 3am on Friday. The fines ranged from outdoor gatherings of groups in public spaces, to private parties and people travelling from outside the area into the county. Several were issued to groups gathering on Brighton beach in breach of the restrictions, although there was no large-scale event on the seafront, police said. Five tickets were issued to a group stopped in a car from London who claimed they were in Brighton to collect a takeaway. After the event at the 500-year-old All Saints Church in East Horndon, Essex a Grade II listed building members of the conservation group that supports it said they are 'devastated' by the damage caused and estimate repairs could cost more than £1,000. Organisers of the event set up a bar and DJ decks inside the church and hired Portaloos for partygoers. Essex Police said officers had been threatened and had objects thrown at them while trying to engage with those present. Astrid Gillespie, a volunteer for the Friends of All Saints, said she was 'just trying to get her head round the news', having found out via a Facebook post on New Year's Day. 'I went up there and the police were still there packing up the equipment that they seized,' she told the PA news agency.
'There were hundreds of people there, it sounded like it was a ticketed event. It was a professional set-up, they'd hired Portaloos they're still there. They had a bar area where you had to exchange tokens, so they must have been selling drinks tokens. There was loads of evidence of drugs and they've done damage to the church, obviously it's a mess and needs to be completely cleaned out. The ground has been all churned up because they must have had vans dropping off all the equipment.'
Ms Gillespie, 48, said a small window had been smashed to put in an extractor fan unit and the sound equipment had been wired into the church's fuse box. She added that because of the building's age and heritage status, the damage was 'not going to be cheap' to fix, and that the locks would have to be replaced. 'The vicar is going to organise a preliminary clean-up but it's a huge task and we're estimating £1,000 but it could well be more,' she said.
'I love the place, it's such a beautiful church, and to find out it's been damaged is devastating, I'm just trying to get my head around it. You wake up in the new year and think 'new year, new me' and then you've got to deal with all this.'
Police said the crowds at the church were dispersed before midnight and that three arrests had been made. A 27-year-old man from Harlow was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, a public order offence, and of offences under new coronavirus regulations. A 22-year-old man from Harlow was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence, possession of cannabis, and of offences under coronavirus regulations. A 35-year-old man from Southwark was also arrested on suspicion of possession of class A and class B drugs. The events came as rule-breakers defied instructions to stay home on New Year's Eve and headed out on to the streets. Piers Corbyn, the anti-lockdown activist brother of former Labour leader Jeremy, railed against the restrictions on a march along London's Southbank. Pictures show the 73-year-old being held back by supporters as he faces down officers during the protest. Dozens of people congregated outside County Hall, where Mr Corbyn addressed the demonstration through a megaphone. Meanwhile others pressed ahead with party plans and flouted rules by toasting in 2021 with a large group of friends. Crowds were seen gathering on the Southbank, near the London Eye, to catch a glimpse of last night's fireworks display. Witnesses saw police confiscating alcohol as people looked to celebrate the end of the year. Most public places typically brimming with crowds lay eerily deserted and usual hotspots such as Trafalgar Square were even boarded up to prevent people congregating. But in Leeds, some braved the cold weather and were pictured on the streets clutching bottles of wine and crates of beer. Ahead of last night, police chiefs warned they would be prepared to take action against rule-breakers. Scotland Yard tweeted: 'We are at a critical point in this pandemic. We would urge everyone to celebrate the New Year in the comfort of their own homes. If people insist on gathering and breaching regulations, then officers will shut them down and enforcement action will be taken.'
The maximum fine for breaking coronavirus restrictions is £10,000 for the most egregious breaches. Hundreds attend raves across Essex as £18,000 worth of fines are handed out. Police in Essex were forced to break-up parties across the county last night after being called to gatherings at an abandoned warehouse, a conservation-run church and a house party with more than 100 people attending. Police seized equipment from a warehouse rave in Brentwood before dispersing events in Thorndon Park and Sewardstonebury, near Epping Forest, overnight. Three men were arrested at the party at a church in Thorndon Park on drug offences. Two people were arrested at the rave in Brentwood. One for failing to provide details, and the other on suspicion of drink driving. A woman was issued a £10,000 fine for organising the house party in Sewardstonebury. Assistant Chief Constable Andy Prophet thanked people for staying home last night, before adding: 'Unfortunately, there were others who decided to blatantly flout the coronavirus rules and regulations and, ultimately, they decided that partying was more important than protecting other people. We've seized their equipment, arrested five people, and issued a large number of fines to those who think this behaviour is acceptable. We need you to keep yourselves, other people, and the NHS, safe. Thank you again to everyone who spent their New Year's Eve in a responsible, legal, way. 'Stay safe, Essex.'
