Birthday party and basement bash broken up as Northamptonshire Police dish out £200 Covid fines

Police raided a family birthday party and found seven people crammed into a basement at 3.30am as part of their crackdown on gatherings breaking Covid lockdown laws.

Four people from different households — all adults — received £200 fines after Special Constables found them inside the property in Corby on Saturday night.

A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said: "This party was for an adult, who invited other adults to their address to celebrate together.

"The adult celebrating their birthday knew they were breaking the law and ‘decided to take a risk’.

"Participating in gatherings of two or more people in a private dwelling is currently an offence under the The Health Protection Regulations 2020, which is why tickets have been issued on this occasion.

"This virus is killing people. Please do your bit to contain the spread."

Officers also found a group of seven after reports of a party taking place in a basement in the Semilong area of Northampton with different households all mixing.

The group fled after police knocked on the door but three were caught and issued with £200 tickets.

Latest figures released by the National Police Chiefs’ Council on Friday showed Northamptonshire Police issued 302 FPNs between 17 November and 20 December, taking the total to 848 since 27 March.

The fines were issued for a variety of offences, including failing to wear a face covering, organising large gatherings and breaching local tier guidance.

Numbers covering Christmas will not be released until the end of January.

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