Metropolitan Police raid boat party and fine 72 revellers £800 each for breaching protocol guidelines

LONDON'S Metropolitan Police have broken up a huge boat party involving revellers enjoying themselves on a stationary vessel at the back of an industrial estate in Ealing in contravention of government Covid-19 guidelines.

In the second such incident over recent weeks, the police were alerted to the party, which is believed to have been organised on social media, just after 11pm on Saturday, January 30. Officers went to Volt Avenue, in North Acton, which is at the back of the Powergate Business Park, where they found the huge gathering taking place on a boat moored up on a stretch of water at the back of the industrial estate.

When the police arrived, a total of 72 people were found at the party. They have all been reported for the new £800 fine for attending an indoor gathering of more than 15 people in breach of the government's coronavirus regulations.

In addition, the organiser of the party was identified and could face a £10,000 fixed penalty notice. West Area Detective Chief Inspector Thomas Bowen said: "This was a blatant breach of the Coronavirus rules that are in place to save lives and protect the huge pressure on the National Health Service.

"All the people who attended this event, which appears to have been organised on social media, have quite rightly been reported for the consideration of fines. The Met will continue to shut down and disperse events such as this, which risk spreading a virus that has already claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people in this country."

Earlier this month, a party in Stamford Hill in north London was raided by the police, where about 400 people were attending a wedding in defiance of coronavirus lockdown rules. To keep the party, secret, windows had been covered and many people left as the police arrived but the Metropolitan Police revealed it uncovered clear evidence of a wedding having taken place.