Student apologises after being fined £10,000 for throwing house party for 50 people

A student has apologised after being fined £10,000 for throwing a house party at his accommodation in Nottingham.

His property on Harlaxton Drive in the central Lenton area of the city saw a gathering of more than 50 people on Friday evening.

The student, who remains nameless, told Nottinghamshire Live it was meant to be a small gathering of 25 people but got out of hand.

He said: "We had invited 25 people and it was out in the garden and aimed to end at 11pm and we were trying to social distance but then people invited their mates and so on.”

Neighbours reported the house party to police at around 10.20pm.

Community protection officers from Nottingham City Council initially attended but were met with hostility from the organiser and so police were called to assist.

When officers arrived the people at the address were all ordered to leave.

The party came just days before new rules come in force whereby only six people can meet at any one time.

Police have warned others thinking of hosting parties to reconsider.

Nottinghamshire Police assistant chief constable Steve Cooper said: “We need to all remember we are very much still in the middle of a global pandemic and we all need to take responsibility for our actions.

“This party was a clear example of a householder who deliberately flouted the rules without a care for anyone else and as a result we have used the full powers we have to deal with this.

He added: “I want to send out a clear message to anyone who is thinking of deliberately hosting parties tonight or tomorrow night ahead of the rules changing to please not do this.

“As we have demonstrated here we are not afraid to use the full powers we have and we will not tolerate those who are deliberately put other people’s lives in danger.”

The law recently changed to allow forces to impose bigger fines in response to increased reports of unlawful gatherings and unlicensed music events.

Under current rules, police can issue fines of up to £10,000 to anyone hosting gatherings of more than 30 people.

Amy English, neighbourhood policing inspector for City Central, said: “We must take these incidents seriously, it puts everyone’s health at risk and we will be working closely with the council and any other relevant organisation to tackle any issues that may arise.”

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