Four students fined £10,000 EACH after flouting Covid rules to hold wild house party in virus hotspot
FOUR students have been fined £10,000 EACH after officials caught them flouting Covid-19 restrictions with a wild house party – as revellers accused cops of “spoiling their fun”.
Community Protection Officers broke up the party in Lenton, Nottingham, on Tuesday night.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
But when they returned later they were stunned to find more than 30 people hiding in the kitchen, bedrooms and basement.
The students, reportedly in their third year, told the officers they were having the “time of their lives” and accused them of “spoiling their fun”.
Four students at Nottingham Trent University have been fined £10,000 each and have been suspended from the university.
In a separate incident, another student at the same university was fined £200 for holding a party at Blenheim Court halls in St Anns.
Do you know the people involved? Contact The Sun Online at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502
Assistant Chief Constable Kate Meynell, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This needs to stop.
“The claims that police presented as a barrier to the students’ fun are astounding.
“How many fines do we have to give before the message is understood?
“We do not take pleasure in handing out fines and would much rather be in a situation where students could enjoy themselves but the reality is that if people do not follow the Covid-19 restrictions, more people will die.
“The majority of students are following the rules but there obviously is a significant number of them who feel as though they can show blatant disregard for the safety of those around them.
“We have demonstrated that we will take action where necessary and I’d like to thank the Community Protection Officers for spotting the party and engaging with the occupants at the house in Lenton last night.
“The students were given the opportunity for the situation to end with a warning but instead decided it was appropriate to lie to officers.
“This behaviour will not be tolerated and I urge those who are considering to host parties to think again.
“We will be working closely with Nottingham Trent University and Nottingham City Council to make sure that all breaches of Covid legislation are attended and dealt with appropriately.”
A spokesperson for Nottingham Trent University said: “We have been notified by Nottinghamshire Police this morning that they have imposed £10,000 fines on NTU students.
“On receipt of that notification we immediately launched an investigation, and each student has been suspended pending the outcome of our investigation.
“Any student who is found to have breached our disciplinary regulations can face a range of sanctions, up to and including expulsion.
“We have repeatedly made clear to all students that they – like everyone – have a crucial role to play in limiting the spread of this virus.
“We know that the vast majority of our students respect the guidelines and advice.
“We will not tolerate any breaches, and where we have evidence of any breaches, we will always take immediate action under our disciplinary processes.”
Nottinghamshire is currently under Tier 2 restrictions although could be moved to Tier 3 due to the spread of the virus.
Areas in Tier Two - where there is a high risk of coronavirus - are banned from mixing with other households indoors, including in pubs.
When outside, only two households will be able to mix.
Current social distancing measures, the "rule of six" outdoors and the 10pm curfew will continue in this tier.
Nottingham is currently one of eight areas on the government’s watch list and is at risk of being moved into Tier 3 coronavirus measures.
Greater Manchester is due to go under the highest level on Friday despite mayor Andy Burnham resisting the government’s decision.
South Yorkshire will also move into tier 3 from 00.01am on Saturday.
Next on the watch list, which has been compiled by experts at King's College London using data from the Covid Symptom App, is Newcastle where there are 348.4 cases per 100,000.
It's followed by other hotspot areas in the North of England, including Nottingham and Bury.
Hartlepool, Salford, Sheffield and Leeds also make the top eight places with the highest Covid rates, according to experts.
Most read in News
Nottingham continues to have the highest rate of new Covid-19 cases in England but the figure has come down substantially.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
In Nottingham, 2,237 new cases were recorded in the seven days to October 16 – the equivalent of 672 cases per 100,000 people.
This is down from 987.1 cases per 100,000 in the seven days to October 9.
