Birthday party organiser fined £10,000 for Covid breach after up to 60 attend
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The organiser of a birthday party attended by up to 60 people has been handed a £10,000 fine after allegedly flouting lockdown rules.
West Midlands Police released body-worn video footage filmed by officers attending a function room in Dale Street, Bilston, Wolverhampton, showing dozens of revellers filing out the exit.
Inside the venue were balloon arches, food and drinks left scattered on tables, and a kitchen piled high with soft drinks and hard liquor, despite the premises having no alcohol licence.
In the footage, officers could be seen examining a card reader machine and pulling out a drawer stuffed with bank notes, during the call-out on October 30.
Superintendent Simon Inglis, of West Midlands Police, said: “This was a blatant breach of coronavirus law.”
He added the fine was “necessary” given it was a “critical time for the health of the city”.
Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, Wolverhampton city council cabinet member for public health, said: “We all have a key role to play in the fight against Covid-19.
“Arranging and taking part in a party like this contravenes just about every Covid-19 regulation going and I am sure law-abiding residents will be as disgusted as I am at the actions of others who, through their thoughtlessness, are putting people’s lives at risk.”
The latest NHS statistics showed 761 people in the city had tested positive for Covid-19 in the week to Thursday.
There are 289 cases per 100,000 people, in Wolverhampton.
The most recent bed occupancy figures showed the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust was treating 43 Covid-19 patients on Tuesday, about 10% of whom were on ventilators.
