Police fine dozens across Leicestershire for festive Covid breaches

A total of 75 fixed penalty notices - with fines adding up to almost £75,000 - were given out with 57 of them relating to gatherings of two or more people in private homes or indoor spaces in designated Tier 4 areas.

Between 7am on New Year’s Eve and 7am New Year’s Day, Leicestershire Police received 191 reports of Covid breaches by the public.

In the most serious breaches, six people were issued with £10,000 fines for holding parties at two separate Leicester addresses for over 30 people.

Assistant Chief Constable Kerry Smith said: “Sadly, my officers, who have given up their own time with family over the New Year to keep the public safe providing a service throughout the day and night despite the risks, had to deal with people who thought the rules did not apply to them.

“It is disappointing and frustrating that this behaviour continues but we would encourage others to contact us if they see a Covid breach as we will do our best to deal with it.”

She added: “We are very pleased that the majority of people followed the rules and are part of the efforts to keep us all safe.

“However despite the warnings there were still people who thought it was okay to ignore all of the rules and government guidance risking the lives of all around them.

“We have heard how the new strain of coronavirus is rapidly spreading and it is vital that we take the appropriate steps to protect ourselves and our families.

“If you choose not to follow the rules you are putting others at serious risk and you could face a significant fine.

The festive period was an extremely busy time for the county force despite the whole of Leicestershire being under the tightest Tier 4 coronavirus restrictions.

The force recorded over 5,000 calls into their contact management department for a number of key days over the Christmas and New Year period.

Collectively on December 24, 25, 26, 31 and January 1, it received a total of 5,102 calls to 999 and 101 compared to a total of 5,120 calls to those service for the same dates last year.

Superintendent Grant Wills, head of contact management department (CMD), said: “Despite being in the current Tier 4 and Tier 3 situation across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, the force received a substantial number of calls both to the 999 and 101 systems over Christmas and New Year.

“These levels of calls received over Christmas and New Year show the continued significant demand on the department and I would like to thank all those involved in working hard to deliver this service to the public.”

Chief Constable Simon Cole said: “New Year was still busy for us and this resulted in a huge team effort by colleagues in CMD to answer and respond to these calls and action police attendance where it was needed.

“Even in the current circumstances, a large amount of planning has gone into policing Christmas and New Year to ensure our officers and staff remain committed to providing proactive high visibility patrols and quick and effective responses to incidents throughout the force area.

“Myself, as well as Assistant Chief Constable David Sandall, worked on New Year’s Eve until the early hours, and I saw first-hand how hard the teams were working across the force area on a particularly bitter night.

“As expected we saw fewer people on the streets and less traffic on the roads but it was still very much business as usual for us responding to incidents such as domestic assaults and road traffic collisions as well as the additional Covid related calls.

“2020 as we all know has been a challenging year but I am extremely grateful and proud to all of my officers, staff and volunteers for their continued hard work and the service they have given.

“I would also like to thank those people of Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland who acted responsibly and celebrated safely this Christmas and New Year within the current government guidance.”