House party of 16 among 88 new fines for Covid breaches
Nathan Clark, of Norfolk Constabulary, outside of Great Yarmouth police station. - Credit: Archant
More than a dozen people who attended a house party were among scores fined for breaching lockdown rules last weekend.
In the early hours of Sunday morning, police were called to Anne Batholomew Road in Thetford to reports of an illegal gathering.
When officers arrived, they found 16 people in a single property having a house party - all of whom were fined £800 on the spot and ordered to leave.
The party was the most severe incident of a number dealt with by officers between Friday, February 5 and Sunday, February 7, which saw 88 fines issued.
Other breaches included:
- Seven people who attended a birthday party in King's Lynn
- A Loughborough man who travelled to and from his second home
- Three people in Wymondham found to be mixing after officers were called to break up a fight
Also among those fined in the past week were a couple from London who travelled to Winteron to a walk, sparking a coastal search for their whereabouts.
Temporary superintendent Nathan Clark said: "Many of the cases witnessed last week were blatant breaches of the rules, leaving officers with no other option but to fine them.
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"We know people are making real sacrifices to stick to the lockdown rules by not seeing friends and family as much as possible. I am grateful to the overwhelming majority of people who continue to do the right thing.
"People know the rules and there is no excuse for the behaviour witnessed last weekend, so we will continue to take action where proportionate and necessary."
Previous weeks have seen people in Norfolk fined for a variety of breaches of Covid-19 regulations.
The last weekend in January saw 55 fines issued, including one to a man who drove more than 250 miles from Bristol to walk his dogs on the Norfolk coast.
Over the same weekend, six people were found at the same house celebrating a birthday party, while another family had a barbecue.
And since the beginning of the third national lockdown, other fines have included a man who drove from Mildenhall to Scratby - a round trip of more than 120 miles - to buy fish and chips and a group of six who played football together in a park.
